Bloody Roar III: Reunited by Chance
by Tiger5913
Summary: Takes place after BRII: Unwanted Betrayal. My version of the events that occurred Bloody Roar III, not based on the actual BR3 game. [Kenji x Uriko, Yugo x Alice, Long x Shina, Gado x Jenny]
1. Before It All Began

10/25/00

Disclaimer: the characters such as Uriko, Kenji, etc. belong to Hudson Soft; Erika Daweson, Matthew Farley, and Adam Takiyo belong to me

Dedication: God, my parents, my friends, my cousins, and the people who read my fics

****

Bloody Roar III: Reunited by Chance, a Reflection of the Past

By Tiger5913

Poem I wrote for this fic:

__

Separated for over two years…

One went away; alone on 

A search for his old memories

For his forgotten past…

The one who stayed back,

Waited for his return.

Just when hope began to dwindle

They were reunited by chance

Both of them had changed,

But the one who left,

Came back very different.

Their connection falters

Remembrance is faint.

Have they been away 

From each other for too long?

The memory of their shared

Past experiences; too strong to detour

Another fight shall initiate

They'll be together, unless…

One is on the other side.

Opposition will lead to confusion

And that… may end at death.

****

Prologue

The sterile smell that filled the air was strong enough to make anyone feel dizzy. Eyelids fluttered shut at the bright, blinding light, and a hand went up to try to block the sight. Narrowed eyes slowly traveled down to settle upon the still form lying on the white-sheeted bed. Pale hands lied stiffly by the sides of the body; concerned gaze focused on the pasty skinned figure. Timid fingers went to brush lightly against the surface, feeling the bump of the nasty scars etching into the smoothness.

_I wish this never happened…_ The person sitting silently by the bed thought. _We're fast at recovering; we'll both be all right… _A throaty sigh echoed in the quiet room. _How did all this start??_

Resentment and sadness flickered in the eyes. _Oh, yes. I remember…all too well…_

As the figure stood up abruptly, paying no heed to the reserved wheelchair, a feeling of intense pain surged through the muscles in their body. Gently grazing the lumpy bruise plastered on their forehead, the person ignored the unease and started to step out of the room.

"Both patients will be fine," a voice was heard outside in the hall; the figure paused.

"Are you sure about that, doctor?" Another person asked, clearly voicing concern.

"Yes, do not worry. The injuries were quite severe, but keep in mind that the healing will take time."

Their voices lowered, and the figure ducked back around the corner, again looking at the body lying on the hospital bed. Glancing toward the ground, the tired eyes caught the glimmer off of an object from a thin band.

_Our promise…_

Sitting down on the soft cushion of the wheelchair, the person laid back and closed their eyes; at the action, pictures and memories spilled into their subconscious state.

****

Chapter 1

Before It All Began

__

Going back to the beginning,

Delving into the mind,

Replaying old memories

Exploring the past and 

Remembering the previous events.

"Are you sure you should go by yourself?"

"Yeah, don't worry," a convincing smile spread over his face as he said that. "I'll be fine."

"Only got a little while before school starts…"

"I know, but I'm sure I will get back in time."

The person speaking to him bit her lip. "…Tell me again, why are you doing this?"

His expression stiffened instantly. "I know nothing about my past; I cannot continue living like this, unaware of the things I should already be informed of…"

"And you said that Yugo doesn't know anything, right?"

"Right. Besides, this is something I have to do by myself."

"Why isn't he going with you?"

"He's got his boxing career, remember? …You believe in me, don't you?"

"I do believe in you," she assured him sincerely, then smiled weakly. "Just wish that I could come along too…"

The smile back was a bit mournful. "So do I…"

"…Um, take care of yourself, okay?"

"I will," he replied, starting to look a little uncertain.

"Come back as soon as you can."

"I promise." The two leaned foreword in a touching embrace.

_Hoooooooooooooooot!!!_

The shrill cry of the train whistle startled them, interrupting their moment of tranquility. 

"I have to go now…"

The girl's eyes fluttered to a half-close. "This won't take months or anything."

Her companion shook his head fiercely. "No way, I don't want to be separated from you, my family and friends that long." He glanced into her eyes. "See you soon…"

She smiled faintly. "You'd better!"

As he got onto the train, he kept his face poking out of the window. When the last call was sounded, the wheels began to turn; he was truly leaving.

"Good-bye, Uriko!" the boy yelled loudly to her as he began to go out of sight.

"Bye…" the young girl whispered quietly, watching the large, rectangular vehicle disappear into the woods. "I love you, Kenji."

*****

****

Almost three years later…

Present time

_My last summer of freedom…_ A teenager thought wistfully. _I have to cherish it…_

The soles of the white sneakers gently padded across the cold stone ground, approaching the seemingly empty brown structure.

_I want to at least spend these next couple of months with him…_

Wide brown eyes lifted toward the sky, really focusing on the single closed window of the house.

_When are you coming back? It's been almost three years… I wonder what happened anyway…_

Feeling dejected, the figure's shoulders fell, clearly projecting off their sadness. Turning around to leave, the sneakers started walking in the opposite direction, not bothering to acknowledge the squishing of the crisp green grass underneath. 

_Three years since you've left…so much has changed…_

She had been fifteen years old at the time that he had left; she was now on her way to eighteen.

Casting one last glance at the house, the brown-haired teenager shut her eyes and went back to her route.

_Will we ever see each other again?_

Head facing down at the gray concrete, she started jogging toward her own home. As she was pacing herself, she reached into her pocket and pulled out a small square card. The girl's eyes scanned over the tiny print, and then mechanically read her mini-bio:

_Name: Uriko Nonomura_

Age: 17

_Grade: 12_

School: La Kenya High

As she got to her identification number, she stopped reading and tucked the care back into her pocket.

_I graduated two weeks ago…why am I still keeping this stupid thing?_ She wondered rhetorically and somewhat stupidly to herself.

The tired expression on the seventeen-year-old's face could be easily seen by the dullness in her eyes. Flipping away a stray strand of her long auburn-colored hair, an annoyed look replaced the tiredness and she brushed the small specks of dust off from her black shorts. Tall and strong with a slim hourglass figure, the high school graduate's light brown eyes dimmed slightly as a picture of a lean, young male teenager around her age flashed in her mind. Although appearing lively and cheerful to her friends, she carried a deep past within, and only several others knew of her secret…

They were all the same; all zoanthropes like her. She closed her eyes, remembering what her mother had said when she, as a young girl, had curiously and innocently asked what a zoanthrope was:

_"We are normal, everyday people. The only thing that is different are our special abilities…"_

"What special abilities, Mom?"

"Like temporarily transforming into an animal, and being able to fight in that form."

"But that sounds scary…"

"You are still young; hopefully, you'll understand it when you're older…"

The last time she had morphed, which was around a little over two years ago, her animal form had been a cat. The girl then half-sneered at her memory. _I was so naïve at eight…un-acknowledging…how sad…_

She shook her head free of the thoughts and continued running, through the crisp air of afternoon, past the tall luscious trees and colorful flowers of summer. Suddenly turning her head to the right, she spotted a large beige building off in the distance: the former high school of she and her friends. Upon arriving at her home, she unlocked the door and ran inside, shutting it behind her.

"Mother, I'm home!" the teenager called out into the house.

"Uriko?" a woman replied.

"Yeah, it's me."

Uriko Nonomura followed the sound of the voice into the kitchen, where her mother stood by the sink.

"He still isn't back yet." The tall woman remarked bluntly.

"No…of course not…"

After Uriko's boyfriend had gone away for more than three months, his caretaker, and 'brother', Yugo Ohgami had felt concerned. But several additional months after that, everyone was worried. Their small circle of friends had gone to the capital of their country in search of the missing teenage boy, where he'd told them that he was going to a little while back. They all had made well, but careful use of their zoanthrope abilities in the process. 

*****

****

Over a year ago…

"Mrrowll…" came out of the light brown-furred cat.

Looking around the dark area, the feline mewed as she pranced toward the small crevices of the hallway connecting the streets together. After quite a while later, she scurried back to the meeting spot, so exhausted from the hours of searching that the fur began to melt away into her skin to again reveal her soft, peach-colored human flesh. Her tail shrunk back into her spine, and her acute sense of hearing was slightly lessened as the two pointy cat ears disappeared into her long brown hair.

At the spot, the teenager stumbled to a sitting position atop a cardboard box in the area and closed her eyes momentarily from her tiredness. Reopening them as she heard footsteps approaching, she inspected her surroundings, watching her mother, Mitsuko Nonomura come out from behind a corner of the alley. 

Something made a whooshing noise as a figure jumped down with expertise from a tall building. It turned out to be a red-eyed rabbit wearing a short pink dress with a matching pink hat resting in between two big, long ears. The former cat watched as the huge white ears seemed to shrink into the head and two blue pigtails replaced them. With her nurse cap in place, Alice Nonomura appeared as her human self from her rabbit animal form, and sighed her defeat. Looking sympathetically at her younger 'sister' with her bloodshot red eyes, she shook her head and Uriko nodded stiffly her understanding.

The young brown-haired girl suddenly heard a couple of growling noises nearby, and her head jerked toward the direction of the sounds. Her eyes settled on the sight of two large feline predators crawling toward the three young women: a ferocious-looking tiger and a red-eyed leopard with black spots dotting the body. Neither of the women even flinched; just patiently waited for their friends to transform back.

The black stripes and orange fur of the tiger faded away and the bulging muscles shrunk back into the figure of Uriko's Kenpo master, Long Shin. His mid-waist length braided black hair reformed, as well as his outfit of a sleeveless white shirt and blue pants. Glancing at his disciple, the Asian man, like Alice, shook his head also; he pointed at the large cat crouched nearby, indicating the same answer, since they had been searching together.

Growling in frustration, the leopard's fierce features turned back into a tall, blonde-haired young woman. Her own sleeveless white shirt and forest green corduroys shifted as she made a fist and punched it into the palm of her other hand. Jane Gado's eyes went to look at the ground, displeased at not finding who she and her partner had been looking for. 

Uriko kept her cool posture, not meeting anyone's eyes as the small light of hope in them started to flicker away. There were only a couple more people on the search. But still, she couldn't show weakness; it was her boyfriend, and she had to be strong for him.

Making his dramatic entrance, a gray-furred wolf ran into the scene, knocking over Long. Shooting a dirty look at the canine, Jane helped her beau stand up. After howling once up at the full yellow moon hanging overhead, the wolf's physiques melted into the form of a tall, brown-haired man. 

Murmuring a, "Sorry, bad habit…" to his friends, Yugo Ohgami swore under his breath, the concern in his face for his younger brother clearly showing. Tightening the ends of his orange vest more closely around his bare upper body with one hand, the young boxer flicked the dust off of his red pants. From his expression, Uriko could tell that he hadn't been successful either; she sighed softly.

Last of all to arrive came a tall, muscular man with spiky blonde hair wearing a black shirt paired with brown denim pants, and a human-sized bat. At first the bat was behind him, but then the coffee-colored creature flew ahead into the area. The bat changed back into a woman with short blonde hair and sky blue eyes, clothed in a fashionable, red mini-dress kind of outfit. The young girl looked at them questioningly; Alan and Jenny Gado gave her the sign of negativity.

"Where the hell can he be?!" Yugo screeched rhetorically, breaking the silence, impatience seeping in his words.

Although the youngest of the group, the others still looked toward the female teenager for her thoughts. This was mainly she and Yugo's arena, but her friends showed the majority of their concern toward her. 

"I don't understand how he could be gone so long," Uriko said finally in a low tone of voice. "I really do not think that it takes eleven months to look up a hospital record."

This was news to everyone, including Yugo; he asked, "…? That's what he went for??"

"Yes." She replied, giving him a strange look. "…Why? What did he tell you?"

"Kenji said that he was visiting a friend of his!"

_Whoa, really?_ The high school junior to-be thought incredulously. _Well, I understand why Yugo believes him; Kenji doesn't lie. But…why did he lie to Yugo…? Did he lie to me as well?_

She opened her mouth to comment, but before she could remark anything, her martial arts instructor, who had been whispering to Jane, said, "I know we are all concerned about Kenji, however, it would not do any good for us to be-"

"-Standing around a place like this at the dead of night, muttering about how irresponsible he was to lie and then run off like that." Jane finished for her boyfriend.

"We should all get some sleep and try again tomorrow." Uriko told her comrades firmly.

They all nodded, while the young boxer looked reluctant and uncertain of the decision, in agreement.

Losing her stiff look, it being replaced by a weary expression on her face, the teenage girl went to be enveloped in a tight hug from her mother. Alice started towards her younger sister to comfort the brown-haired girl, but the others pantomimed their suggestion of not interfering.

_Just a year ago, the runt was carefree and a roaming spirit._ Jane thought, sighing to herself. _How did she get so much older in such a short amount of time? _

Sensing her discomfort, Long slipped an arm around her waist and whispered in her ear, "She'll be all right; I have seen how determined and strong-willed Uriko can get. We'll find Kenji."

Glancing briefly at the two Nonomuras and at Alice talking softly to Yugo, the tomboy replied quietly, "I hope you're right."

****

End of Chapter 1


	2. An Abrupt Reunion

****

Bloody Roar III: Reunited by Chance, a Reflection of the Past

By Tiger5913

Chapter 2

An Abrupt Reunion

__

The young couple met up again

She looks at him, her eyes

Filled with surprise and fear.

Appearing to be the same, she senses

Something dark emitting from him.

They never found any real leads. Even after they'd performed the search multiple times, and Yugo had called for information around the area, but they never found any solid foundation.

She never gave up hope; Uriko could sense that he was out there, alive someplace.

The two of them had felt a special connection with each other ever since the first time they had met, despite the fact that they had fought at their first meeting. But even as she didn't surrender to the dark possibilities, the high school graduate had her limits. Although she'd never admit it, her spirit was beginning to wither, and her dreams of finding him had started to fade. A few stray tears slipped down her cheek at the sad memory and the young woman brushed them away irritably.

*****

"I had a great time…thanks…"

It was the following night and Uriko was standing on the front porch of her house. A teenage boy with short black hair and twinkling blue eyes wearing a black shirt and matching windbreakers was next to her.

He smiled. "You're welcome; I had a great time too. If you're free, can I see you again in a couple of days?"

"Sure, Matt…" she answered softly, reaching for her house key.

As she looked up to say goodnight, he slowly leaned foreword to kiss her. The high school graduate flushed and turned her face, feeling his lips brush against her cheek. Not objecting, her date smiled again and walked down the pathway leading away from her house. After watching him get into his car, he and Uriko waved to each other as he drove off. When he left, she immediately unlocked the door and darted into her house, feeling choked up. 

Breathing so hard that she felt like she was being suffocated, the brown-haired girl squeezed her eyes shut as tears slowly slipped down her cheek. Even though she still loved Kenji, Uriko had started steadily dating a former school peer of hers, Matthew Farley not too long ago. Her best friend, Erika Newton, had introduced them. But although Uriko liked Matthew, she felt confused as to where he and Kenji stood.

Sitting in the living room, Mitsuko heard the door slam shut and called out, "Uriko?"

"Yeah? I'm back, Mother," she answered, walking into the room where her mother was.

"Did you have fun on the date?" the tall woman asked.

"Y-yes…" her daughter replied, looking a bit guilty.

Sensing her unease, Mitsuko stood up and went over to the high school graduate, hugging her warmly.

"Uriko, there's nothing wrong with enjoying yourself…" she said gently.

"I know… but I still miss Kenji," the brown-haired girl persisted.

"We're all concerned about him, especially Yugo, but you have to understand that Kenji might be-"

Breaking away from her mother's embrace, Uriko cried passionately, "No, he's not dead! Why is everyone assuming that Kenji died?!"

Tears formed in the angry girl's eyes and she dashed from the living room, running out of the house. Mitsuko called to her daughter and went after her, but she had disappeared by the time the woman had reached outside.

Numerous blocks away, Uriko came to an immediate stop and practically forced her eyes open as she panted her tiredness. Overhead, the sky was barely enlightened by faint orange rays and dark blue was coming to replace the lighter color. Still, she went on, this time, an actual destination in her mind. As she walked along, she soon caught sight of a large, forestry-looking place: the park she'd known since a long time ago.

__

This was the last place we went together… the young woman remembered with a faint shadow of a smile as she timidly started toward the tranquil park. All of a sudden stopping, she looked up. _I-it's getting late… I'd better go back…gotta apologize to Mother…_

Walking backwards, eyes on the woodsy area, Uriko took a few steps before turning around and leaving. Going toward her home, she stuck her hands into the pockets of her blue jeans, wincing at the icy feeling of her palms contacting her warm thighs. The chilly wind blew carelessly at her upper body; two thick white straps were all that covered her bare shoulders, the rest exposed by the open areas of the tank top she was wearing. 

When she was only a few blocks away from her house, a masculine-sounding scream cut through the quiet night air, startling the shivering Uriko. Curious, she quickly ran toward the direction of the noise to investigate, her former attitude of concern for others slowly rekindling. 

Eyes letting off the familiar yellow glow of light, the agile teenager ended up around the corner leading to a dark alleyway; another cry was heard, this time, sounding very close by. Cautiously peeking around the bend, preparing herself to morph for the first time in two years. Uriko tightened her facial features; glancing at the dark area, she thought she'd sensed a zoanthrope around somewhere.

As soon as the high school graduate heard a loud groan, she sensed that she was witnessing a fight first-hand. Wrinkling her nose in distaste, she started to walk off, but then…

"Ar-rgh…!" Uriko's ears twitched at the mangled, pleading cry of distress. Now starting to worry a little, she stepped out into the alley to confront the jerk that was doing the beating up. Her light brown eyes widened in shock at the sight in front of her.

A human-sized creature with mahogany colored fur quickly silenced their unlucky victim as it jumped on the opponent's head, locking ten vicious, long claws around the base of his neck. The creature kept its legs straight up in the air, and without hesitation, started spinning around very fast, maintaining a tight grip around the poor man. Within seconds, his head was twisted off, and the dead body lay still and lifeless on the ground.

Feeling her stomach churn at the scene, Uriko covered her mouth. The horrified girl took in a couple of deep breaths, a little disgusted at herself for weakening at the scene. She'd seen worse before, back then when Busuzima and the ZLF were wrecking havoc amongst the normal human citizens. Taking in a few throaty breaths and gasps, she willed her heart as well as herself to calm down.

Unfortunately, the creature heard her loud gasping, and had also sensed the girl's zoanthrope nature. Screeching a challenge, the beast turned toward her direction, and soon darted quickly at the brown-haired student. As the other zoanthrope ran, she noticed that it was doing so in a strange position, with an arm was plastered in front of its face - perhaps in protection? 

Standing a mere yard before her, the young female's opponent let out a low snarl. Raising her fists in case she would be attacked in the next second, Uriko quickly made out the posture and a couple features of her challenger. The beast was obviously an animal, standing erect, and was a couple of inches shorter than her. 

__

It-it must be easy for this…beast to kill others, as well as unmercifully… A perfect quality for an assassin, the young woman thought with a chill. _I wonder if the man it killed was a human, or a fellow zoanthrope? _Looking at the wicked glint in the other beast's eyes, she thought, _I hope it's the latter…then that man would have at least had some sort of a chance to fight back…_

While analyzing that, Uriko also noted the red pants that the creature was wearing, as well as the gray scarf wrapped around its neck. Its feet were small, and had what seemed to appear like two talons, but of course, they were bigger than the size of birds. Huge sharp claws were pointing toward her, and she shuddered slightly at the sight of the gleaming objects, looking like built-in knives attached to the zoanthrope's hands.

"…What are you…?" she asked rhetorically, knowing full well that it couldn't reply, being in beast form.

But as she caught a glimpse of her opponent's chilling green eyes, she took in a shaky breath. Squinting her eyes at the shadowy figure, she took a few steps backwards, hoping to lure it under the dim streetlight that was nearby. Even though aware of what she was doing, the zoanthrope nonchalantly stepped foreword into the light. She inspected it for several seconds, and then the realization hit her; Uriko dropped her guard and gawked wordlessly.

__

It's a…mole… But w-wait a minute, could that be…??

"Kenji…?!" the girl inquired, her voice growing high-pitched. "N-no, wait… T-this can't be…you wouldn't kill someone so coldly like that…!"

After staring intensely at her for a second, the brown-furred mole hopped over her head effortlessly, coming to a smooth landing. With her back turned to it, she could hear the scuffling of its feet scampering quickly away.

"S-stop!" Uriko cried out as she turned to face the beast. She started to chase after the mole, but after a few feet, it surprisingly stopped, and so did she.

The two locked eyes for a long, silent moment and the both of them were standing still while doing so. Breaking the eye contact, the mole back-flipped away from her; stubbornly, she followed. At the third flip, a flash of light emitted off the creature and soon faded. Uriko blinked as bright spots danced before her eyes; she got rid of the effect with a few shakes of her head.

Re-observing the scene, she spied a tall figure walking toward her, stopping at a foot distance. The young woman eyed the person cautiously, but stood her ground, making no move to back away. Without warning, a hand shot out toward her at a lightning fast speed, seemingly reaching for her throat. Uriko's quick reflexes allowed her to bend her body backwards, and instead, she imprisoned the arm in a tight, iron grip.

Growling in annoyance, she demanded gruffly, "What do you think you're doing…Kenji??"

Her shadowy opponent didn't answer, just glared at her while crouching down and kicking hard at her shins. Temporarily distracted, Uriko groaned, and taking that as an advantage, the figure thrust both palms at her abdomen, pushing her back. The brown-haired girl fell to the ground; as she was standing up again, a hand grabbed a hold of her hair and yanked. Lifted to her feet, Uriko muffled her pained cry and bravely stared into glowing blood red eyes of her opponent. Up close to him, she could make out the person's dark blue hair and malicious-looking facial features.

"Do not interfere, or else," was his low threat. With that, he cruelly threw her back onto the ground; Uriko hit the floor roughly and tightened her fists. Before she could get up, he appeared to throw down a wooden object, and disappeared into a puff of smoke.

Clumsily pulling up one of the fallen straps of her tank top, the girl let out a quiet sob of pain and daintily touched the top of her head. She tightened up her expression as she quickly flipped back up into a standing position. Not taking any chances, Uriko decided to try morphing for the rest of the journey home. The changes came quickly as usual, but as she closed her eyes, twirled her outstretched arms and concentrated on the animal genes inside of her, she felt a bit strange during the transformation.

Reopening her eyes, she glanced down at herself, and was shocked to see that her cat form seemed a little bigger. Her vision behind the familiar red eyes from her zoanthrope form was heightened, allowing her to notice a lot more than she could two years ago. The ears that sprouted from her long brown hair were larger than before, and Uriko discovered that she could hear a lot better, the senses picking up every little noise in the alley.

__

What…what happened to me? She wondered, at the same time giving into the animal instincts and lazily reaching up a normal cat paw to scratch at a small fly that flitted around her. _Never mind; it's not that much of a change from my old beast form, probably just some annoying leftover thing of puberty. _The light brown-furred cat raised her head to the sky. _Hrmp… if I don't get home soon, Mother will really worry._

Ignoring the small differences, she pranced toward home, where she knew an explanation was going to have to be given.

*****

__

At least we know that he's alive…

After being drilled repetitively by Yugo and questioned by her other friends for a couple of hours that morning, Mitsuko saw the frustration in her daughter's face and told the others to let her rest.

Rest… hrmp, how could Uriko rest, knowing that her missing boyfriend was somewhere out there? Waving them away absentmindedly, Uriko went up the stairs to her room and locked the door. Flopping down on her bed, she closed her eyes and tried taking a short nap, but soon felt too restless for sleep. Sitting up, she went over to her closet and pulled out a dark orange basketball.

__

I think I'll go shoot some hoops…

A soft mew was heard as she was deciding that. Looking down, she spotted a small black kitten strutting foreword, proceeding to rub her head against Uriko's knee. The teenager girl had remembered when she and Kenji had founded the cat in an old mansion on a Halloween back when they were still fifteen. Smiling, she bent down and petted her cat on the head adoringly.

"Don't worry Kineko," she whispered to the black-furred feline. "I'll be back soon… I won't disappear like Kenji did…"

She opened the two glass frames of the window by her bed, and hopped onto the roof, clutching the orange sphere under her arm. Carefully making her way down the side of the house where she knew no one would be able to see her, the teenager was about to dart away, when she heard something interesting coming from the living room, where her comrades were discussing the situation.

"…That was the third murder this week in the city. Police investigations have failed to uncover enough evidence to convict anyone…" came a voice from the television.

She waited to hear more: "…As you can see here, the most recent victim was discovered decapitated, and vicious markings were found covering his entire body."

Uriko made a disgusted face; she knew what the anchorwoman was talking about. Still clothed in the same outfit as yesterday, she left for the basketball courts nearby immediately. But on the way, by a strange impulse, the brown-haired girl went to the alleyway from last night. As she looked down the dark path, noticing that the body of the man was gone, a meaningful look came over her face. 

_The reporters work fast… I wonder if they'll ever be able to find the…culprit?_ She thought as she stepped away and turned towards a different direction.

All of a sudden, she heard a crash behind her, and instincts told her to duck as a large piece of metal flew over her head. Still ducking, Uriko instantly turned… and courageously faced at her attacker. A little bit of shock was etched across her face, despite the fact that she felt like she shouldn't have been surprised, but still was.

"I-it's y-you again…" The first words she spoke to him since that little …incident… was in a bit stutter. 

__

Wow…he's actually coming out in daylight, huh? The high school graduate thought dryly and with a touch of sarcasm.

Looking cautiously at the dark blue-haired boy, she stayed where she was, keeping her distance. Now that it was daytime, she observed him carefully, not even flinching at his unresponsiveness; Uriko expected it.

He was almost the way she had imagined him to change in the years he was gone, with the exception of his hair and eyes. Standing at around five foot eight, Kenji Ohgami stayed silent as the girl studied him. His narrowed brown eyes that thoroughly followed her movements were missing the familiar shade of light orange in them. They were now glowing red and his hair had lost his former shade of black, instead being replaced by dark blue. The tight, navy colored one-piece outfit that he was wearing covered his whole body, with the exception of his bare, muscular arms. There was still a long red scarf wrapped around his neck, and as Uriko tilted her head a little, she could faintly spot something black underneath.

"Back so soon?" she questioned a bit snidely, still annoyed by the previous events. Even feeling irritated at him, the female teenager wouldn't admit at the moment that she was glad to be reunited with him. She was sure there was a good reason for the way Kenji had acted… at least she hoped there was…

Of course, the young ninja didn't reply.

"What do you want?" Uriko asked finally.

"Your cooperation." He answered coolly, surprising her.

"Cooperation for…?" She inquired suspiciously, raising a fist defensively in front of her face.

Out of nowhere, a couple of shurikens suddenly appeared tucked in between the ninja's fingers. With expertise, he threw both of them at his opponent; Uriko managed to twist her body away from the first one, but the second cut into her upper left arm. Wincing as blood began trickling from it, she carefully but precisely took the small object out, and tossed it on the ground.

"So you wanna fight? Is that it?" Uriko questioned, giving him a cold glare. _Sheesh, what happened to him on that frickin' trip?!_ She wondered.

"Either fight on my side, or I will be forced to kill you," was all he said.

"Huh…? What side?" the young woman questioned.

She didn't get an answer. _So, you're going to try to kill me? Fine, if you can capture me, that is…_ she thought as started sprinting toward the ninja.

When she was a few feet away from his face, he assumed what tech she was going to use, and ducked. Expecting him to do that, Uriko smiled, then leapt high into the air and landed on top of him. Wrapping her legs around his upper body, entrapping his arms, she leaned back, throwing Kenji over her head and slamming him onto the floor.

Quickly regaining his standing position, the blue-haired boy responded to her attack by rising from the ground and hopping over her. While she was turning around to face him, he grabbed Uriko by her arms, and the two of them shot up. Once airborne, Kenji repetitively kicked her body up, and though she tried to retract from him, he kept striking her ruthlessly. Finishing his combo, he threw the girl into a pair of trees nearby, and landed smoothly himself. 

"Ugh…" A moan escaped her mouth as she struggled to stand up.

"Weakling." Kenji spat at her coldly.

"Arrogant." She shot back from her grounded position.

Picking up a large metal bar from the floor nearby, he slowly made his way over to the girl. Spotting the glitter from the object, Uriko barely rolled away just as he brought the bar down. Targeting her shivering body, the ninja casually followed the girl as she tried to stand up and get away. She grimaced as she stumbled back to the ground; not waiting any longer, Kenji struck her with the bar.

Uriko let out a pained cry when the cold metallic object connected with her back. Narrowing her eyes, she tried to ignore the injury and jumped up, the soles of her sneakers knocking the ninja in his chin. Backing away, she ran toward a tree, retracted from it, bounced off and kicked him twice in his chest. As she was going to land, Kenji recovered quickly and grabbed one of her ankles with his free hand. 

Stopping short, the brown-haired girl feel toward the ground, and her hands went to support her upper body. Following up on his move, the red-eyed male teenager threw her leg over her head so that she flipped around and her back landed roughly on the floor. Trying not to show weakness, she gritted her teeth and crawled a few feet away from him. Calmly, he somersaulted into the air, and landed right in front of her face. Just as Uriko saw the navy-blue pants before her, Kenji hit her forcefully on the head, and tears squeezed out from her eyes from the pain.

Repeating the action several times, she immediately covered her head with her hands. Closing his eyes, he raised two fingers and waved them around, then pointed them at her hands. Fire shot out from the tips, burning her wrists. While she cried out in distraction, he stuck her one more time, putting heavy force into it.

Soon, she felt faint and her consciousness was beginning to filter; the image of the ninja with a careless expression on his face was the last thing Uriko remembered before slumping lifelessly to the ground. Smiling coldly and triumphantly down at her, Kenji made sure she still had a pulse before picking her up and disappearing into another smoke bomb.


	3. The Hurt Is Still To Come

****

Bloody Roar III: Reunited by Chance, a Reflection of the Past

By Tiger5913

Chapter 3

The Hurt Is Still To Come

__

After the brutal fight ends,

The pain isn't going to stop there.

Neither are the feelings of

Confusion and horror still 

Patiently waiting to greet her.

"Wake up," a voice hissed at her, startling the young woman out of her drowsy, injured state. She tried to shake her negative reply, but then writhed as she felt a jolt of pain hit the back of her head. 

"N-no…" was her low protest. "I-it hurts…"

"I said,** wake up**," again came the persistent hiss, the tone rising as it emphasized on the last part of the demand.

Painfully, Uriko opened her eyes with great reluctance. The vision before her blurred, but slowly came to a settle as she blinked several times. Sighting a dark-clothed figure, she squinted and realized that it was Kenji; all of a sudden, the events that she just went through came flooding back into her mind.

_He…he caused my pain…_ She thought dazedly. _And I thought he loved me… ugh…_

Lolling her head around, Uriko noticed her new surroundings and current position. The two of them were in some kind of cave, and she couldn't see any light around, just the dark brown walls; they made her feel like she was imprisoned. The artificial source of light in the room gleamed from a small candle sitting on a table nearby. 

Uriko tried to move her legs to walk, but felt resistance, as if something was binding her. She looked down at herself and spotted the tight ropes wounded around her legs. Her blue jeans were also viciously ripped, probably from the fight before, and the area from her sneakers to the bottom of her upper thigh was exposed to the chilly environment. The female teenager was about to reach her hands out and untie them, but something was entrapping them too. Glancing at her arms, she spied ropes tied around her wrists as well and she let out a soft moan of protest.

_I **am **imprisoned…_ she thought as she weakly struggled against the thick, tough objects that bound her. _I…I have to get out of here…_

"Do not resist; you will just bring more suffering to yourself." The girl heard a voice in front of her remark matter-of-factly.

"W-what difference does it make? I am already in pain and agony!" She shouted angrily at him, eyes focused on the ground, not wanting to meet his cold gaze.

"Hahaha…" his cruel laugh brought a chill down her spine and Uriko shut her eyes, feeling a bit fearful. Displeased with her resistance, she felt cold fingers grip her chin and wrench her face up. 

Staring dully into her shaky brown eyes, Kenji informed her, "Not as much as you're about to be in…"

"H-huh? What do you mean by that??" She questioned shrilly as soon as he moved away to a corner of the room.

Without answering her, Kenji retrieved something from the area where he was inspecting, and stepped toward her again.

"…What's that?" Uriko inquired, eyeing him cautiously. _Just what the hell is he doing??_

With a malicious smile, he held the slinky object up. "A…whip?" She figured out. "What, what are you doing with that!"

Ignoring her, the blue-haired ninja tightened his grip on the whip, wrapping one end of it several times around his arm, and carefully holding the larger other half. Finally really looking at him, she saw that his scarf and former navy blue outfit were tossed onto the ground, and he was now only clothed a pair of black pants.

"N-no…you're not…" she began to protest.

_What's wrong with him; did he hit his head and lose his memory?!_ The cat zoanthrope wondered.

"Shut up!" Kenji hissed his answer. "You can't order me around."

Wincing at his harsh tone of voice, Uriko kept quiet as he brought his face close to hers, so that his warm breath blew upon on her face. 

"Worthless fool." He taunted.

"If I'm so worthless, what do you want me for?" She asked softly with sincerity.

The ninja smiled wickedly. "Everyone needs an object to play with. Just like the way you and all the others played with me like your little _toy_…"

"W-What?" Uriko cried, astonished by his accusation. "What's that supposed to mean? I never used you! None of us never used you!"

He remarked in a silky tone of voice, "Oh… really?"

"Yes!" she replied passionately, eyeing him wearily as he began rubbing her bare shoulder with one of his hands, ignoring the strap.

_…The bloody hell does he think he's doing…?_ She wondered.

Kenji snarled. "You never cared about me like you said you did; no one gives a damn about me."

"That's not freaking true!"

He fingered the strap of her tank top. "It's not nice to lie."

_No…he's not going to…to… He'd better not or I'll…! _She thought, panic flowering over her. "What…what happened to you?"

"I was brought to my senses, that's what happened…" the ninja replied, not really explaining anything.

Before she could say anymore, he snapped the whip at her, the thick stringy rope connecting with a slash diagonally across her chest and then, several more in the same area.

Uriko managed to say in the midst of her loud groans of protest, "Ugh… don't…do that!"

Paying no heed to her plea, the ninja whipped her with the slick object repeatedly, over and over in different spots, even as she protested further. Soon, angry red welts appeared on her arms and legs as she closed her eyes and tried to sway her mind away from what was happening. But still, the high school graduate couldn't ignore the repeated lashes against her skin.

"Uhhhh…" she moaned painfully. _This…hurts… My skin… is on fire… _"Why…are you doing this…"

Surprisingly, Kenji answered her; "I want you to suffer like I did."

"If you wanted support or anything else…I-I would have helped you…" the brown-haired girl told him weakly.

"I don't believe you…" he replied, and continued his task.

After a few minutes, she let her head hang limply; as her body was being tortured and abused, she felt like her skin being torched. "No…more…" Then she slowly began to black out from the pain, not noticing when Kenji suddenly jerked. Hesitating, he held his head between his hands as the whip clunked to the ground and he grimaced.

*****

"Uhhh…"

Her heavy eyelids lifted up; she realized that she wasn't being whipped anymore, instead, she felt a soft object cushioning her head. Delicately stretching her muscles and wincing, Uriko suddenly discovered that she was lying down, and that her arms and legs were no longer trapped.

_W-was that all just a dream?_ The confused young woman wondered, but then she felt pain flickering her entire body and grimaced. _No…I'm pretty sure it was real…_

Just then, she felt something warm shifting and pressing intimately against her. Shifting her position, Uriko turned to look behind her and saw Kenji lying beside her, his hair tousled and his breathing peaceful.

_Oh my God… what happened??_

Glancing down, her face went aflame when she spotted his arm slung casually over her chest. Letting a dry cough of embarrassment, she carefully lifted his wrist and set it down, feeling a bit strangely.

_This is my chance to leave…_ Uriko thought. Yet, she felt a bit reluctant to leave to young ninja, now that she'd found him. _I-I guess I should stay…just until my injuries heal up…_

As if on cue, the lashes on her back began to burn and she winced again. Trying to keep her mind off of them, the high school graduate turned her attention on her companion. Looking at him curiously, she wondered to herself, _Why did he untie me? Wait…why did Kenji even whip me in the first place?_

Slightly fearing him but at the same time feeling her heart go out to him, she laid back, facing him, and stroked a few stray strands of his hair. Uriko's eyes studied his face for a few moments, then flickered downwards. Placing a timid hand on his shirtless chest, over the blue-haired boy's thudding heart, she suddenly noticed a few scars cutting into his rough skin. Her mouth fell open a little at the sight and she allowed her fingers to trail over to them, delicately tracing each jagged line.

_He looks so serene; calm…not like the way he was a while ago…_

Just then, as she looked back up toward his face, Uriko caught sight of a thin black collar around his neck. 

_Hmm…? What's this?_ One of her hands left his chest and reached toward the small ring.

The second she brushed against it, Kenji's eyes shot open and he immediately clutched her wrist in a tight grip. 

"Don't touch that." He warned sternly.

Trying to wrench her hand out of his grasp, Uriko grimaced and said, "Let… go of me."

"What were you doing?" the ninja questioned, ignoring her request.

"Nothing," she replied, still struggling as she awkwardly sat up. _Damn it, he's got a stronger grip than I last remembered._

His suspicious red eyes went down to glance at her other hand and he sat up as well. "Why were you touching me?"

"What? Puh-lease… D-don't flatter yourself," came her quiet answer while she took her hand off, and then looked away.

Kenji growled as he thought to himself, _I should just kill her… kill her now…_ Catching her confused brown eyes, he realized, _but for some reason, I can't bring myself to do it. _

"Why can't I kill you…?" he wondered out loud, caressing her chin with his other hand.

"I'm wondering the same thing myself." Uriko admitted wearily, again trying to tug out of his grasp.

He laughed. "I think I'm attracted to you-" 

She snorted. "Hah! Yeah, right."

"-But it won't last for long."

"Oh gee, how did you come to the first conclusion?" She asked sarcastically, feeling an angry strength growing inside of her.

For once, he wasn't sure what to answer. "I…I don't know."

The brown-haired girl gave him a sideways glance. "Are you going to let me go anytime soon? Mother and the others are gonna get worried."

"Hrmp, do you think I'm stupid?"

"Sweetheart, you really don't want me to answer that right now," Uriko deadpanned. "Now please let go of my freaking hand before I break your damn arm."

He retracted his arm with a grunt.

"Geez, what a tight grip," the brown-haired girl remarked, shaking out her wrist. "So what are you gonna do now?"

"I am supposed to be interrogating you." The ninja said bluntly, and captured her arms, binding them behind her.

She twisted her head to stare at him in shock. "I hope you don't mind my asking, but… What'd I ever do to you??"

"You really want to get me started?" he asked, giving her a cold glare.

"Sigh… and to think that you loved me…" The young woman whispered under her breath as she hung her head slightly. _Although I am curious…_

Kenji paused when a tingle shot up his spine at the familiarity of the words; he shook it away with a frown. "…What was that?"

"None of your business," she shot at him defiantly.

"Ugh-!" The blue-haired ninja let go of her all of a sudden as he began to shudder violently.

"Kenji? What's wrong??" Uriko questioned, turning around and looking at him with concern.

With his eyes closed, the teenage boy grabbed his head with one hand, and the other scratched at the black collar around his neck. 

"Damn that stupid thing already!" she said angrily. 

Reaching both hands towards the ring, she stretched the rough material out so that it wasn't so tight around his neck, then she tugged at it. While Kenji opened his eyes again and the red pupils glowed menacingly at her, telling her to keep away from him, she hissed, showing her teeth. It was a characteristic that Uriko had picked up from her cat form, and she was starting to like it. He snarled at her in response, and tried to pry her hands away, which only made her more determined. 

"Quit struggling-!" She commanded.

Not listening to her, the ninja reared his arm back; lightning began encircling it and he brought it foreword. The small bolts licked at her chest, shocking her body and the force of the blow knocked the young woman back a few feet.

"Tell me what that thing is!" Uriko demanded as she shakily stood up.

_Damn it, she's too strong for her own good,_ Kenji thought as he rubbed his throat vigorously. "Stay away from it!"

"Why?!"

"That's none of your goddamn business!" He snarled at her while raising a fist menacingly.

"I'm not afraid of you!" His female companion yelled back, getting into her ready-to-fight stance.

"Are you sure about that?" The ninja asked with a malicious smile. "Because based on our last battle, you should be…"

"Kenji, I've known you since we were fourteen," Uriko stated softly. "You never really gave me a reason to be afraid."

_Besides, I can beat you up so quit acting so freaking cocky,_ she thought quietly to herself.

"You sound so sure of yourself," the blue-haired teenager said. "Confident of your words, as if you really know me."

She frowned. "I suppose I sound kind of like you did back when you were Bakuryu."

"Oh, so you are dissing me now?"

"No…" she said, folding her arms across her chest and leaning against the wall behind her. "I'm not."

"…You're an interesting one," the ninja remarked. "Why aren't you resisting me?"

Suddenly appearing frustrated, the Kenpo student went foreword and tapped the palm of her hand on his forehead. "Hello? Kenji, don't you remember our shared past at all?" 

Sneering at her, he pushed her hand away so then she took a hold of his arm instead. "After all we've been through together, I've… gotten to trust you."

"You've…what?" Kenji asked, looking confused at her words; subconsciously, he slipped his wrist out a little to link his hand with hers.

"Well… do you?" She inquired softly, reveling in the familiarity of his warm grip.

"Do I… what…?" His eyes flickered briefly and she could see a bit of brown trying to surpass the red glow in his irises as he looked at her. The auburn-haired girl swore that the black ring was flashing…reacting to the change in his eyes.

"…U-Uriko?" the blue headed teenager whispered. 

_Fight it…come on, Kenji…_ she urged silently.

The ring started to shudder and he let go of her hand, struggling as a wave of static shocked through his body. Uriko went toward him, concerned about what was happening, but the ninja cried out, "Ugh…stay away-! Don't want you…to get hurt too…"

"But I-I can't just stand here and do nothing!" the young woman said, glancing worriedly at him. _I have to get rid of that stupid ring!!_

After a moment, he opened his eyes and she bit her lip as she spotted the shade of red starting to reappear.

****

End of Chapter 3


	4. A Seemingly Endless Struggle

****

Bloody Roar III: Reunited by Chance, a Reflection of the Past

By Tiger5913

Chapter 4

A Seemingly Endless Struggle

__

The small glimpse of hope 

Briefly flared up in her caring eyes.

But it smothered and started to die

When he looks to her again

With cold red pupils of fury.

_Foolish boy, struggling against me._

A figure sat, clothed in the darkness of the room, watching displeased as Uriko went to help the young man stand up. An evil smile formed when sighting Kenji looking coolly at her as he rejected her assistance.

_Their bond is stronger than I thought…hrmp, perhaps he was not ready. _The figure concluded, sneering his disapproval. _That stupid teenage boy, I ordered him to bring the girl to me. Why hasn't he done so?_

Rising, the silver-haired man absentmindedly flipped aside the excess portion of his long, red outer coat. 

_I will take action myself,_ he decided as he quickly left his current location.

*****

"What is this damned influence that you have over me?!" The ninja yelled out, directing his anger at Uriko. He growled when she didn't answer him and grabbed her arms, holding them in a tight grip.

_He remembered…_ She thought to herself. _Even if it was just for a minute, he remembered…_ "Kenji…"

"Go away. Leave now." He ordered, shoving her a few feet back.

"I will not!" Uriko replied doggedly.

"I said leave, damn it!!" Kenji shouted.

"And I said fuck no!" She yelled back defiantly.

His eyes flashing furiously, he started slowly and menacingly stepping toward her, hissing each word as he said in a low voice, "You don't realize the position that you are in, do you? If you do not leave now, my master will come soon and have the pleasure of killing you himself."

"And who the hell is that?" The high school graduate questioned. "I know it can't be Busuzima; Stun killed him over two years ago. And Shenlong killed himself, according to Master Long."

"No, it's not either of those pathetic weaklings!" The ninja answered. 

__

Oh sheesh, here we go with the 'weakling' labels again. She rolled her eyes in exasperation.

"This is a harder opponent… a stronger zoanthrope… That is, if you want to refer to him as one of…our…kind."

"…What's that supposed to mean…?" She asked.

"I can't explain now," he told her. "You have to go."

"And why don't you want me here so that your master can destroy me? Isn't that what he wants?"

He opened his mouth to answer, but suddenly, the ring vibrated again and his body shuddered violently.

"You know what? I'm seriously getting annoyed by that stupid thing!" Uriko cried out, narrowing her eyes.

Sharp claws started growing from the young woman's fingers, the mere beginning of her transformation. She stopped morphing after her cat claws had formed, and before Kenji could protest, she pounced and pinned him to the ground. After that, she slashed viciously at the black ring; marks were engraved into the circular object, but it didn't break. 

Frustrated, Uriko ignored the look and the resistance that she was receiving from the ninja and slashed at the ring again, harder this time. The force she put into the blow sliced through the thick material and the two broken pieces fell to the ground with a couple of dull clunks.

"Finally!" Uriko exclaimed triumphantly as her claws disappeared back into her normal fingernails.

"Uhhh…" the seventeen-year-old lying under her moaned.

"Oh!" she cried, getting up from him. "Kenji, are you alright?"

"Uriko…" he murmured faintly, shaking his head slightly.

The young woman trustingly took a hold of his hand and helped him up to a shaky standing position. She glanced cautiously at him, trying to decide if he was still under the spell of his master. As he looked up into her eyes, she saw the familiar shade of brown and light orange in them.

"Y-you're back!" She said gleefully.

"Yeah… ugh, my neck hurts…" he groaned.

"Oh man, I'm sorry about that… I… I didn't intend to hurt you or anything," Uriko apologized.

"F-forget it…" Kenji assured her with a weak smile. "I, I am just glad to see you… Riko."

Grinning happily, she leaned foreword and hugged his thin form, her hands splaying against the flesh of his naked back. "I'm glad to see you too, Kenji. It's been too long…"

"Umm… about three years?" he asked, looking a bit uncertain.

"Yes…unfortunately." She replied with a sigh. "Oh, I missed you so much…"

"I missed you too…" he told her sincerely. Backing away, the ninja looked at her meaningfully and all of sudden spotted a red welt on her bare shoulder. He touched the bump gently as a pained expression came over his face. "Uriko, I… I… didn't…"

"You don't need to explain," she answered.

"No… I do," Kenji insisted, taking her hand and making eye contact with her. "I have to let you know that I would never hurt you like that…not ever willingly… I apologize…"

"Trust me, Kenji, I know you better than that," Uriko said. "Hey, we have been going together for quite a while. I'm sure that… that incident… was because of that 'master' of yours."

His eyes flared. "Him… Uriko, sweetie… you gotta get out of here."

"What?" She exclaimed. "Yeah right, I'm not gonna leave you to face him alone!"

"Please, go!" the dark-haired ninja pleaded, gripping a tight hold on her hand. "You don't get it, he's very powerful and manipulative with mind games; I care about you too much to risk him messing around with you!"

"Hmm, touching. How disgusting." They heard a voice spit out, interrupting them. Startled, the couple snapped back and both turned in unison to face the intruder.

A tall figure was several feet away from them, levitating a couple of inches off the ground in front of the pathway leading out, blocking the weak pale rays of sunlight fighting to get inside the room. Strands of long silver hair flowed loosely from the sides of the stranger's shadowy, hidden face. Clothed in a white linen shirt, dark pants and wrapped by an oversized red coat, the look of disgust in his glowing red eyes was unmistakable. At the sight of him, Kenji started to tremble slightly; sensing his discomfort, Uriko gripped his hand in reassurance as she eyed the figure carefully. 

"Xion…" the name escaped from the ninja's mouth in a low, shaken tone of voice.

"That's his name…?" the lone female in the room quietly whispered her question out of the corner of her mouth.

"Yes," came the weary answer.

"Foolish ninja… foolish _boy_," the dark stranger sneered conceitedly.

The young woman felt her companion stiffen at the words.

"So premature, so easy to confuse," Xion continued in a hypnotic tone of voice, slowly striding over to the couple, fixating his flashing blood-red eyes on Kenji. "What a poor, pathetic boy. Do you really believe that the girl isn't just toying with you again?"

"Shut up!" Uriko shouted, feeling irritated at his manipulation, while the ninja stayed silent.

The silver-haired man turned his attention to her, snarling as he hissed, "Stay out of this, you little brat."

"Not when you're trying to mess with his mind I'm not!" She replied, shooting him a defiant look.

The blue-haired boy's head lowered slightly, hanging 'casually' as his eyes were cast to the ground. "Uriko…"

"Yeah?" she asked, turning to look at him.

"He's lying… …isn't he?"

Xion smiled maliciously at his small point of triumph.

"Kenji… you doubt me…?" There was a bit of surprise and disbelief in her voice.

He didn't answer, just lowered his head a little so that he was looking toward the ground. 

"Do you…? …Kenji?"

Persistent, the young woman placed her hand on his chin and turned him to face her. When she was peering at him and was opening her mouth to comment further, she suddenly noticed the dull, lifeless look in his eyes. Her own eyes widening in shock, she retracted her hand a few inches away from him.

_W-what's going on? What happened to Kenji?_ She wondered. Just then, she cast a quick look at Xion, who was carefully watching the both of them, but eyed Kenji with what appeared like an expression of deep concentration. _Wait, I bet he's trying to put Kenji in a trance!_

Gently but firmly shaking her compatriot, Uriko whispered a frantic, "Kenji, don't let him get to you!"

"I tire of this nonsense." The silver-haired intruder remarked bluntly. 

Still watching Kenji, he raised his hand at the female teenager; at that moment, Uriko felt something push forcefully at her chest. Before she could try to deflect or fight it off, her back roughly met the wall and surprisingly stayed attached. Struggling against the invisible hold, she gritted her teeth in frustration after several futile attempts. While she was hanging a few feet off the ground, stuck to the wall, Kenji remained in his crouched position, eyes still looking to the floor. Smiling in satisfaction, Xion snapped his fingers and the ninja slowly rose to face him. 

Watching the events that were happening, Uriko yelled out, "Don't give in, Kenji! Fight it! You've got to!"

He turned to look at her and she gasped when spotting his eyes start to faintly glow with a dark shade of maroon.

"R…Riko… I'm…sorry…" was all he could manage before the blue-haired teenager vanished. 

Sneering at Uriko, Xion muttered, "Don't try to find us…my other zoanthrope warriors and I will find **you**… and your precious friends…" 

__

…What other zoanthrope warriors? She wondered.

"…You all will have to deal with each and every one of us, and I'll leave you to your weak-minded _boyfriend_." With a cruel laugh, he disappeared too.

As soon as they were gone, the young woman felt the hold release and she stumbled to the floor. Staying in her crouched position for a few seconds, she murmured a few choice words under her breath in anger. Standing up again, she knew that she had to go tell the others about the discoveries of Kenji and…this Xion protagonist. 

The brown-haired girl darted out of the room and into the cold, chilly air of nighttime. Although she felt tired, she still morphed, knowing full well that she wouldn't stay in that form very long. When the changes had completed, the young zoanthrope noticed yet another thing different. Her fur was long and silky, and the color was now light beige, instead of her usual brown-stripped shade. 

"Mrrowl…" the cat in her mewed in confusion.

_This really is not my night…_ she thought as she sprinted off to find her way home.

*****

"Where did they go?!"

Wincing slightly at his tone of voice, Uriko turned away and answered quietly, "I don't know, okay… they just disappeared…"

Frustratedly running a hand through his hair, Yugo continued his pacing on the pathway in the setting sun. Alice shot him a stern look as she went over to side with her younger sister; the others were scattered around the small area in the center of the park. It had been a day since Uriko had arrived back at her house to a worried Mitsuko. When her mother had gruffly questioned her about where she stayed without telling her, Uriko had simply replied, "I found him." 

At that, the boar zoanthrope immediately knew whom her daughter was talking about. After calling everyone up, they all agreed to meet at the park near dusk, where people usually didn't hang around at night. The brown-haired girl had told them to be cautious, and that it would be best to bring their selected weapons, just in case. Before leaving by herself to go meet her comrades - Mitsuko felt that she probably wouldn't have been much of help - Uriko had grabbed her own weapon.

Looking around now and spotting the various items her friends were carrying, she was glad that they'd taken her advice.

"I wonder just who is this Xion guy…" Jane mused.

"Uriko, you believe that he used an invisible attack on you?" Long questioned, sounding a bit dubious.

"Yes," his disciple answered. "It was like…magic or something…"

"Magic??" everyone in the group except her asked.

"…The hell? What is he, some kind of sorcerer?" Yugo inquired.

"Do you think Xion's a zoanthrope, Uriko?" Alice asked reasonably.

"Maybe…um, I think Kenji might have mentioned something about him being one of 'our kind'," her sister replied with uncertainty.

"So what are we going to do about this?" Jenny chimed in.

Uriko frowned. "Xion told me not to find him… that he and his 'other zoanthrope warriors' would find us instead…"

"A manipulative and provoking remark," Alan said disapprovingly. "It sounds like he would be good at mind games."

"Ugh… who knows what he'd do to Kenji…" the high school graduate sighed worriedly. "After all, Busuzima managed to brainwash Kenji twice; Xion is probably more… experienced than Busuzima."

"No good, lousy bastard," Yugo hissed. "When I find that guy and those lousy troops of his I'm gonna-"

"You're going to what, hmm?" A voice smirked from behind the group. Seven heads turned toward the direction of the voice and saw nothing but the shadows of trees dancing around. A frown came over Long's face, as he sensed the familiar essence of a zoanthrope…

"It's him…" he whispered, taking a few steps back as his eyes hastily scanned the area.

"Who?" his girlfriend questioned.

Before he could answer, a figure jumped swiftly down from the tree that was closest to him. Startled, Long stumbled back and Jane grabbed his arms to support him while everyone turned at the noise. Cloaked in the darkness of the night, the figure walked tantalizingly toward the Kenpo master and the blonde-haired woman.

"Xion…" Jane spat.

"No, it's not him…" the Asian man told her as he held up both fists in a defensive position. 

Smiling coldly at their reaction, the figure stepped into one of the lit areas provided by the numerous lamps in the park; the zoanthropes all went to place a hand on their weapons. Jane looked questioningly at her boyfriend, but then turned her attention back to the stranger. Cautiously, she inspected the person, noting the dark blue Chinese outfit with red and gold trimmings, along with the small braids tied around a long ponytail of black hair.

"Shenlong…" Uriko said, the loathing in her voice for the man that had kidnapped her mother a couple of years back was unmistakable. 

"Wait… I thought you said that he killed himself, Long…" Jane murmured, speaking for everyone. The evil clone laughed at the confused expressions on their faces, keeping his fierce red eyes on Long.

"He _almost_ did, but then I fixed up right back up!" a snotty-sounding voice piped up. As the sky was growing darker still, Uriko's eyes began to glow and she spotted a faint shadow stalking up to Shenlong. _Oh man; don't tell me he's here too-_

The shadow quickly lost its cover and from it appeared a tall, gangly man with lizard-like features. Paying no heed to the weather with his neon green shirt and dark green pants, the zoanthrope's small, beady red eyes twinkled in delight when he received numerous looks of disgust from Uriko and the others. 

_Gross, it's the freaking pervert!_ Uriko realized as her elder sister murmured, "Ick, Busuzima…" But then, the brown-haired girl remembered something; she shouted to the chameleon zoanthrope in confusion, "Wait a minute…I thought Stun killed you!"

He smirked. "None of y'all give me any credit! I created that big lug; do ya really think that he could kill me that easily?"

The others looked at the two of them, unsure at the topic of their conversation.

"What the hell is going on??" Yugo inquired finally.

"Uriko, is there something that you forgot to tell us?" Long asked his young disciple.

"What do you mean you thought that Steven killed him?" Alan added.

"I'll explain later," she replied apologetically.

"Well, speaking of the insect boy…" Busuzima trailed off, looking over his shoulder as someone else appeared from behind a couple of trees.

_Stun too??_ Uriko's eyes widened when she saw the tall figure wrapped in beige-colored bandages.

"Steven? How did they get to you?" Alan questioned, but of course, he didn't get an answer.

_Where are Kenji and Xion?_ The young woman wondered.

As she was thinking that, she felt something sharp dig penetrate the skin of her right shoulder. Letting out a noise of discomfort, she turned her head and slowly pulled out the object while the others asked her what was wrong. Wincing slightly, Uriko held the cold item in her hand and looked at it closely; it was a small, pointy shuriken.

_Geez, does he have an infinite supply of these stupid things or what… _She frowned at it, then realized… _Wait, this means that…_

"Kenji!" she heard Yugo cry out.

Quickly tucking the shuriken into her pocket, Uriko looked up, and saw the blue-haired ninja crouching on a tall tree branch nearby. After spotting him, she raised her right arm up, preventing the boxer from running to his younger brother as she warned, "Don't go near him!"

"What? Why the hell-?!"

"Trust me!" the girl persisted firmly; reluctantly, he backed off. To the ninja, she asked, "Where is he??"

With a fake smile, he replied, "You don't need to know, since that is none of your business…"

"Don't give me none of that bullshit," Uriko said, narrowing her eyes at him. "I know he has to be here somewhere!"

"Heh, heh, heh… Looking for me?" she heard someone sneer nearby.

"That… that's gotta be Xion," she whispered to her comrades.

The steel haired man slowly came into view as he floated down from above, levitating at Kenji's level with his arms crossed over his chest. The young woman could hear shifting as her friends started to reach for their weapons at the newcomer's arrival.

"So it was you! What did you do to Kenji, you son of a bitch?!" Yugo angrily yelled his question at Xion as he tugged on his punching gloves more tightly.

"And what did you do to the others??" Alice asked, slipping four small black darts into the palm of her hand.

"I don't have to answer to you inferior creatures," Xion answered conceitedly, smirking at the dark-haired nurse.

"Inferior?? Who the hell you calling inferior, you spineless bastard!" the inflamed boxer shouted.

Smiling, Xion didn't answer; he just turned to his warriors and commanded, "Dispose of them. Now."

At his order, the villains nodded briefly and went to carry it out. Shenlong grabbed the arm of the Kenpo master and tucked it behind his back. With both hands, he shoved his opponent a few feet into the forestry and went after him. Seeing what had happened, Jane gritted her teeth angrily and followed her boyfriend and the clone, her spear clutched tightly in her hands. 

After one of his allies had lured two of the opposition away, Stun eyed Alan coldly before darting off. Accepting the challenge, the lion zoanthrope ran to follow the insectoid man, Jenny running closely behind. While Alice had her back turned to Busuzima, he slunk an arm around her waist and flung the pigtailed woman far into a few shrubs of another area, then darted after the blue-haired nurse. 

Feeling really ticked off, Yugo ran to help his girlfriend face the green, spiky-haired zoanthrope, yelling to Uriko as he darted off, "We'll be back as soon as we can!"

Left alone in the center of the park, Uriko went to face her own foe, as well as her beloved boyfriend. She looked around for Xion, but he was floating high above her, his feet resting upon the tip of a tall pine tree. Grumbling in irritation, she murmured, "Coward…" at the steel-haired man and then glanced at the blue headed ninja.

"I wish that we didn't have to fight…" the young woman whispered to him as she stood her ground.

"You may think of this as a test of your fighting… _skills_," he answered with an arrogant smirk, hopping down from the tree branch. "Well that is… assuming you have any…"

Holding up her fists while watching him carefully, the high school graduate said quietly, "I definitely like you better when you are yourself."

****

End of Chapter 4


	5. Cat Fight - Long and Jane's battle

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Bloody Roar III: Reunited by Chance, a Reflection of the Past

By Tiger5913

Chapter 5

Cat Fight - Long and Jane's battle

__

Singled out by a foe, those two are 

To fight their own personal battle.

Without the others around for 

Stable support, they will have 

Only have themselves to rely on.

Caught off guard by his clone's throwing tech, Long was pushed out of the area and fell onto the cold wet grass of another clearing. Recovering from the attack, he leapt back up and cautiously scanned his surroundings.

__

I did not want to do this, but apparently, I have no choice… the thirty-four year old man thought as he slowly slipped out a couple of daggers from the two sheaths that were attached to the belt of his jeans.

"I know you are here somewhere…" he murmured quietly.

All of a sudden, he felt something connect forcefully with his back. He was thrown a few feet foreword from the impact, and fell to the ground but quickly flipped up into a standing position. 

"I thought I saw you kill yourself," Long commented as he turned to face his clone, tightening his hold on his daggers.

"Silence! I did nothing of the sort!" Shenlong retorted, raising a clenched fist in anger.

__

He either doesn't remember or is in denial… I suppose Xion or Busuzima is responsible for this… the Kenpo master thought.

Without exchanging any more words, his clone darted at him and thrusted both of his hands foreword. Twisting away from the assault, Long grabbed one of his arms and kicked at the back of Shenlong's knees, tripping him. 

While he was down, the Asian man quickly stomped on his twin's abdomen before backing away a few steps. Annoyed, Shenlong got up and punched three times at his opponent, then jumped a little into the air. Bringing his legs up, he struck Long's head with the heel of his shoe as he landed in a neat set of splits, tucking an arm behind his back in mocking respect as he stood. 

Rolling away, the Kenpo master crouched as his clone tried to repeat the action. Standing upright again Long reared one of his arms back and when lightning encircled the arm, he jabbed his elbow at Shenlong. While his foe was trying to rise again, he quickly leapt on the downed man's head and jumped a few times, stepping back after the fourth stomp.

Snarling, the kung-fu master imposter regained his posture and immediately went on the offense. He struck Long with his fists, then yelled out, "Take this!" as he pummeled his opponent eighteen consecutive times.

As the Kenpo master lay on the floor, wiping away the small trickle of blood from the corner of his mouth, Shenlong stood sneering over him. Folding his arms over his chest and standing with his legs in a stiff stance, he laughed cruelly and smirked, "Hah, what made you think you could beat me!"

"Hrmp, is that the best you can do?" a voice called out confidently from behind.

As he turned around, he saw Jane running full-speed at him, she shouldered her beau's clone and he fell down. She flipped over him, clutching the spear tightly in her hand; going over to Long, she offered her free hand and helped him stand up.

"Thank you for the assistance," the Asian man said to her, getting into his ready-to-fight position, holding the daggers over his head.

"No problem," she replied with a faint smile. Crouching with her knees slightly bent, she held up a hand protectively in front of her face, keeping the spear behind her back.

"Hrmp, two against one?" Shenlong snarled disapprovingly. But then, a mischievous grin came over his face.

Directing his attention at Jane, he sprinted toward her, rolling into a ball of orange fur and striking her roughly as he transformed into his beast form. 

"Jane!!" Long called out in concern when he saw his girlfriend get thrown back, her weapon flying out of her hand as she landed.

Glaring at his clone, he quickly aimed and threw one of his daggers as the tiger was stalking towards the blonde-haired woman. His aim accurate, the small knife cut through the fur and stabbed into Shenlong's back. Temporarily forgetting about Jane, he turned and focused two glowing yellow eyes at Long. The fierce tiger reached a hand around to his back and yanked the dagger out, then tossed the weapon into some bushes nearby.

As the clone started to walk toward the Kenpo master, Jane took advantage of the distraction and immediately grabbed for her spear. Flipping up into a standing position, she ran over to the tiger and jammed the sharp object into his side. Growling in pain, he stumbled to his knees and proceeded to pull the weapon out from his body. After doing so, Shenlong turned to Jane and flung the spear at her, roaring his anger as he grabbed for her throat with his clawed hands when they were only a few inches apart.

__

No! "Stay away from her!!" Long cried out as he rushed toward his opponent and kicked at the orange-furred tiger's back, knocking him to the floor.

The blonde-haired woman reared her arm back and morphed smoothly into her leopard form of pale yellow fur and dark brown spots. Her tail formed as she was knocking Shenlong up into air with her sharp feline claws. When he came back down, she leapt on top of him and sank her teeth into a spot near his neck. She tightened her grip and jerked a couple times, then got up and effortlessly wiped her muzzle. While she was doing that, the Kenpo master clenched his fist and roughly stomped the ground with his right foot. 

A flash of light enveloped him and during the period, thick, dark gray fur sprouted from his body, as well as the other changes. His long black hair disappeared and was replaced by two big tiger ears; a gray and black striped tail grew out from the bottom of his spine. Fully transformed as his brown eyes turned into a glowing color of yellow, he let out a roar and went to assist his girlfriend.

Furious by the turn of events, Shenlong leapt into the air and shot both of his legs foreword, kicking Jane a few feet away. When he landed, the evil clone stomped the ground and raised his legs, striking her multiple times in the head. While she dazedly shaking her head, he started stepping mechanically toward the blonde tomboy. On the fourth menacing step, he reached an arm foreword to grab her head but she quickly interrupted his tech by executing her own Beast Drive. 

__

Cross Blade Zapper. She thought silently.

Knocking her opponent out of his tiger form, Jane slashed viciously at him three times, then leapt into the air, slamming him up as well. Almost immediately after he was airborne, she slashed one last time at Shenlong, knocking him to the ground and leaving faint scratch marks on the pavement nearby where he was lying. 

Coming to a graceful landing, the blonde-haired woman punched her fist in the air and yelled out triumphantly, "Yeah!"

Angry that his Rage Move had been blocked, Shenlong flipped back up, seeming a bit weakened. Casting his two glowing red eyes upon Jane, he brought both of his arms back, then thrusted them at the female zoanthrope's stomach. Tiny bolts of lightning licked at her bare skin as she was thrown a few feet away, her back connecting with the grassy floor. 

Raising herself up with one arm, she brushed off the weeds that had attached themselves to her black sleeveless shirt and matching long pants. Busy with his attack, Shenlong didn't notice that his other opponent had pounced at him in a feline manner. The male tiger gripped his shoulders and threw Shenlong over his head, onto the ground. While his clone was still down, the Kenpo master started stalking toward him.

_Ferocious Tiger Laceration. _Long said to himself while he grabbed a hold of his twin's head with one paw just as he was standing back up.

Blue electric energy started forming at the palm of his other paw, and he quickly shot his arm foreword. A beam of laser caught Shenlong in the chest and he flew across the clearing, stopping only when his back roughly met a tree. A faint hologram of a gray-furred tiger stood in front of Shenlong, striking him twenty-two consecutive times with the laser, while from hundreds of feet away, Long clasped his hands together and bowed respectfully and with dignity. Nearby, Jane slowly got up, nodding her approval at her beau's multiple hit Beast Drive.

_Heh, Shenlong's gonna be feeling **that** for a while,_ the blonde-haired woman chuckled.

Shaking off her thoughts, Jane noticed that Long had started walking toward his clone; silently, she followed him to inspect. Stopping a few feet away, she hung back, and suddenly noticed two black objects sitting on top of the grass. The parts appeared to her like a couple pieces of a broken ring. When he was standing right next to the downed man, the Kenpo master leaned down and placed two fingers on Shenlong's neck, under his jawbone. 

Staying still for a moment, he rose up and turned to look at Jane as he shook his head, murmuring to himself under his breath, "This futile battle is over…"

"He's… dead?" she inquired.

"Yes…" was his quiet answer as he slowly went over to her side.

"Hey Long…" the blonde-haired woman started to say.

"Yes?"

"What do you suppose those are?" She pointed at the two dark objects.

He frowned, going to them for a closer look; following him, the couple crouched down and inspected the broken pieces curiously.

"I don't know…" Long answered finally, standing up.

"Hmm," she murmured thoughtfully. "I wonder if they came from Shenlong…?"

Suddenly, she vaguely recalled spotting a thin black object wrapped around the throats of Stun and Busuzima's necks. Jane didn't get a real close look at Kenji, although she assumed that he had one on too.

She opened her mouth to comment, but then sensed her boyfriend's disturbance, and decided to talk about it a little while later. Looking questioningly into his stormy brown eyes, she asked gently, "Is something wrong?"

"It, it feels as if a part of me died with him," Long replied with a frown of uncertainty. "Strange, isn't it…?"

"Not really," his girlfriend commented as they started to slowly walk foreword, shaking her head. "After all, there were two of you at one time. It's probably the same feeling as if your twin brother died or something similar to that…"

He smiled weakly. "Even though he wasn't my twin brother or anything… I think you are right." 

Spotting her spear in the shrubbery, he plucked it out and handed it to her; the blonde-haired woman mouthed "thanks." As she accepted it and their hands contacted with each other, Long rested one of his hands over hers and said, "By the way… thank you for your help."

With a pleased grin, Jane replied, "You're welcome. Hey, if you need assistance at any time, just give me a holler; I'd be glad to help."

_How supportive of her, _the Chinese man thought with a gentle smile while he tucked away his single dagger with his other hand. _I am still glad that I did not wear my glasses for this event… _"I will definitely keep that in mind."

With the middle part of her spear attached to a metal clip on her pants, Jane clenched her free hand into a fist and asked, "Think we should go see how the others are doing?"

"Good idea," he answered with a nod.

"I want to make sure that the others are holding up well. Actually, I, I don't even know who Father is facing, although if he's fighting, I'm sure that Jenny is by his side." She remarked, concern clearly heard in her voice.

"We should still go," Long said, gently tugging on her hand.

"Uh… Hold on…" the tomboy paused.

"What is it?"

Without giving him a verbal answer, Jane went up to him and closed her eyes as she quickly placed a soft kiss on his lips; surprised, Long looked at her wordlessly.

The leopard zoanthrope flushed slightly. "I, I just wanted to do that… I apologize for not asking first."

Recovering, he smiled at her, amused, and teased lightly, "Well, then, Jane… may I ask permission to kiss you?"

A bit taken back, her eyes widened slightly but she managed to nod her answer. Placing a hand on her arm, Long leaned foreword and kissed her with insistence, but still with a touch of tenderness. She responded, kissing him back; they backed away from each other after a too brief moment.

_Not bad for a first kiss,_ Jane thought with a smile.

Looking a bit dreamy himself, the Kenpo master cleared his throat awkwardly, then spoke up; "Ready to go now?"

"Mmmhmm…" she answered.

As they starting walking, glancing around for signs of their friends, the blonde-haired woman heard her beau murmur quietly, "I hope we'll do that again sometime…"

Although she wasn't sure if that was directed toward her or himself, the twenty-three year old smiled in amusement and whispered to him, "I hope we will too…" Just then, she remembered about the rings. "Long?"

"Yes, Jane?"

"Those black pieces we found nearby Shenlong… I think the others have them too."

The Kenpo master paused and turned her to face him as he asked, "What do you mean?"

"I kind of remember seeing rings on Stun and Busuzima," she replied. "Do you think that is what Xion's using to control them…?"

"That is a serious accusation… but I bet you're right." He agreed with a frown.

Reaching down to unhook the spear from her waist, Jane remarked matter-of-factly, "Well, it looks like we'll have to get those things off then, won't we?"

She glanced at her companion and he nodded stiffly as a slightly pained look appeared in his eyes.

"Trust me, Long," she said to him, gently grazing the side of his cheek with her hand. "Although I thought I would never admit it, I will: right now, I'm not feeling in the mood to fight either… but it appears we don't have much of a choice or a say in this."

"I know…" he sighed. "Well, come on, we need to let the others know about this."

_I hope they're all right…_ Jane thought to herself as the couple started walking again.

****

End of Chapter 5


	6. A Reluctant Inception - Alan and Jenny's...

****

Bloody Roar III: Reunited by Chance, a Reflection of the Past

By Tiger5913

Chapter 6

A Reluctant Inception - Alan and Jenny's battle

__

Rarely crossing paths before,

They're now forced to battle.

Slowly turning to face each other

They raise their fists for the 

Indication to start the fight.

It didn't take very long to catch up to the slower-speeded insectoid zoanthrope. As the older couple jogged over the crisp green grass, deeper into the forestry of the park, past countless trees and shrubbery, they came to a stop as soon as their opponent did. The area that the three of them were now in was clothed in the black of the night, and faint light was struggling against the darkness for room, but was losing. While the weak lighting was making it a bit hard for Stun and Alan to see, at the same time, it was to Jenny's nocturnal animal advantage. 

Coming to a stop, not even feeling breathless, the bat zoanthrope smoothed out her dark blue top and long black leggings, glad that she wasn't wearing her one of her usual mini-dresses. Tucking a thick strand of her newly dyed silver, but still short hair behind her ear, she looked over at her spouse. 

Alan blended in with his surroundings pretty well with the exception of his spiky red hair; he wore a dark green sleeveless shirt and pants. In front of them stood Stun, slightly resembling a GI-Joe army recruit with his forest green outfit and the numerous bandages wrapped around his body.

Breaking the silence, Alan questioned the other male reasonably, "Why are you working for Xion?"

Stun merely hissed a reply.

"We know you are capable of speaking, Dr. Goldberg," Jenny added, rolling her eyes in exasperation.

He didn't provide a verbal answer, just hissed at them again.

"Do you think he is under Xion's control?" The red-haired man whispered to his partner.

"Well, I would hate to find out that he was acting this way of his own will…" was her quiet reply.

Without warning, Stun lunged at Alan, lifting the lion zoanthrope over his shoulder and slamming him headfirst onto the ground behind. Immediately, Jenny was onto him; she leapt into the air and kicked at her opponent's face multiple times. After the fourteenth strike, she bounced off from the attack, slamming him to the floor while she landed, letting out a loud whoop as she did so. 

By the time she'd executed her tech, her husband was already back in a standing position, and had hurriedly slipped a pair of brass knuckles over each of his fists. Following her attack, he picked Stun up from the floor by his neck; while doing so, Alan felt his hand wrap touch something thick. Squinting at the object, all he could make out was that it was dark-colored and wrapped around Stun's neck. 

Turning his attention away from the circular thing and saying to his opponent, "I'm sorry, but Jenny and I reserve the right to defend ourselves," the lion zoanthrope punched the green tinted figure square in the face, knocking him down again.

His red eyes glowing with anger, the insectoid zoanthrope darted foreword, despite his lack of agility, and cross-slashed at the red-haired man's chest with his metallic claws, ripping through the dark green fabric. Looking over behind his shoulder and spotting Jenny running toward him, Stun hastily slammed the ground with one fist.

The woman stumbled from the impact, temporarily set back. Agitated with her attempt to disrupt him, he reached down low and grabbed one of her slim legs. He threw her high into the air and watched as she stopped going up and started pummeling down toward the earth. Seeing that his wife was in danger, Alan went to try and catch her, but there was no need for that. 

A few yards above ground, Jenny unhooked her weapon from her waist and lashed it out at a tree. It wound several times around a thick branch, and she caught the momentum, swinging her body over and then under the branch. Landing carefully, the silver-haired woman yanked her long, thin whip back, retracting it into the palm of her hand.

"Impressive," Alan commented earnestly.

She flashed him a smile and replied, "Thank you."

While the couple was talking, they didn't notice that Stun was rushing toward Alan. When he was only a few inches away, the bandaged fighter head-butted his opponent, morphing in the process, throwing the both of them to the ground with his attack. 

Green plated beetle scales replaced his features and his face expressions were even more concealed in the transformation. Stun quickly got back up and pounced on the still-down lion zoanthrope; pinning the red-haired man to the ground, he lowered his face toward Alan's neck.

Before he could try to drain his opponent's blood, Jenny hastily went toward the insect, light and dark brown fur starting to grow from her entire body as she ran. After her clothes dissolved into the fur, large supersonic ears formed on the top of her head and thick skin appeared under her arms, attaching to her waist. Finishing her morph with her wings, the newly transformed bat knocked Stun up into the air with one leg and then kicked him across the clearing. 

As her opponent was flipping back into a standing position, Jenny dashed at him and the second he stood up, she lunged at him and sank her sharp fangs into his neck. Stepping away after a moment, she wiped the excess blood away from her mouth with the fur of her arm and watched as the dark red liquid drops fell silently to the floor.

_I'm the only one that does the blood sucking around here,_ the female bat thought. _Especially if it is on my own husband…_

Giving her a grateful look, Alan tightened his brass knuckles, then pounded the stone concrete with his legs as light flashed off of him. Blazing red fur grew from his body and his face bulged out to receive the muzzle of the lion. His teeth enlarged, stretching into longer, sharper objects while a red mane circled around his neck. As more muscles were added onto his arms and legs, the thin maroon-colored tail appeared and the small injuries that he had endured were starting to heal.

The minute he finished morphing, Alan dashed at his opponent, letting the brute lion's instincts take over him slightly. He leapt through the air and pounced at Stun, knocking the insect away with his vicious, pointy claws. Jenny fluttered her large bat wings and floated up, out of their way, yet still keeping her beast form's red eyes on the two fighting men.

Due to his tough defensive mechanism, Stun was able to get up rather quickly and he immediately ran toward the red-furred lion. Grabbing his opponent by the waist and charging foreword still, he pinned Alan to a nearby tree and forcefully smashed the back of his head against the hard bark. As soon as the feline zoanthrope fell to the floor, Stun reached down and grabbed him by the neck. 

He threw his victim into a different tree across the area, and the strength of the blow was hard enough to make Alan paralyzed for a short while. Wasting no time, the insect flapped his green human-sized wings and darted straight at the stunned lion. After connecting hard with his opponent's chest and rib area, Stun threw him to roughly onto the dirt floor, while transforming out of his beast form.

Watching the situation, Jenny swooped down from the sky and drilled her sharp webbed feet into her foe's back. He stumbled a little from the attack as she floated back into the air, flying away from him. Turning to look at her husband shakily get up, thankfully still strong enough to maintain the lion's body, she smiled in relief.

_Sky High Tempest. _The bat quickly decided.

Jenny dive-bombed Stun, aiming for the top of his scalp; she grasped on tightly, swinging the protesting zoanthrope up over her head. She performed an air-combo on him, kicking at his helpless being, then tossed him down to the earth. As her bat features disappeared and were replaced by her normal human features, the silver-haired woman could no longer fly. Falling down after Stun, she landed on his ribs, somewhat accidentally stepping on them as she cried out a bit sarcastically, "Oh, I'm sorry!"

Just as her dark brown boots left his body and stepped off to click on the ground, Stun grabbed a hold of her leg and swung her into a tree several feet away. His back turned to Alan; he was oblivious of what the other male zoanthrope was doing. The maroon-furred lion stalked up behind the insect, and then without warning, knocked him up into the air with one punch. As Stun started to fall down, his face met with an elbow as Alan, now human, stretched out his arm. 

After finishing his Beast Drive, he went over to his wife's side. His blood-red eyes now flashing with fury, Stun flipped up into a standing position and stalked toward the couple. All of a sudden, the three of them heard a crisp noise and the insectoid zoanthrope felt something pierce the side of his leg, cutting through the thick bandages. 

Staggering from the pain, he looked at his green colored upper thigh and stared at what appeared to be a sharp spear attached to a long wooden rod. While he was trying to wrench it out, a swishing sound whispered nearby him and another object coincidentally sliced at the dark ring around his neck, breaking it into two. As the pieces and the stunned zoanthrope fell to the floor, so did the weapon that broke the ring: a small dagger, its blade glinting.

Looking up ahead, Alan saw two figures cloaked by the shadows and realizing who they were, exclaimed, "Jane! Long!"

Running foreword into one of the dim lights from a lamp in the park, his tall, blonde-haired daughter appeared in the view, her boyfriend jogging beside her. 

"Father!" Jane called out as the couple sprinted toward him and Jenny. When they were just a few feet away, they stopped running.

"Are you two okay?" Jenny asked, quickly looking them over.

"Yeah, we're fine, just had to take care of Shenlong." The tomboy replied, trying to sound nonchalant.

"You are both hurt," Alan pointed out with paternal concern, noticing the bruises and small cuts on their face and arms.

"I will probably take a little while to recover," Long said. "But I will be alright."

"Same here," Jane added. 

"I'll help her if she needs it," her boyfriend added.

Chuckling, Jenny commented, "So alike, right down to their slow healing speed."

They all laughed; they knew that Jane and Long weren't exactly as fast at healing as Uriko and Kenji were.

"Well, at least we're not still hyperactive teenagers like Uriko and Kenji," Jane protested jokingly.

"They're both a little smaller than us, but faster than all of us," Long commented, praising his disciple and the blue-haired ninja.

"Hey, speaking of the kitten, where is she?" Jane questioned suddenly. "Is she still back at the site with Alice, Yugo, and Kenji? And that evil guy who has pretty nice hair but a rotten attitude?"

The others laughed at her last remark as the Asian man teased her lightheartedly, "Oh? And what's wrong with my hair?" 

"Absolutely nothing," his girlfriend replied with a grin, gently taking a hold of his long ponytail tied together with several red bands and pressing it delicately against her smooth cheek. Flushing a little, he gave her a small smile.

"…I don't mean to interrupt," Alan started saying. "But perhaps we should go look for Mademoiselle Uriko and the others."

"Father, you and your French accent," Jane commented, chuckling lightly. "Well, you are right about that though."

"Let's head back toward the center," Jenny suggested.

Her husband paused. "I think just two or three of us should go; I feel responsible for Steven's current condition." He looked back at the unconscious zoanthrope. 

"We'll go ahead and investigate," his daughter said, gesturing toward Long and herself.

"I'll stay with you," the silver-haired woman told Alan when she saw him hesitating.

"All right. But be careful," he agreed, nodding to Jane. "Long, take care of my daughter."

"Father-!" She protested as Jenny started walking away from them, heading toward Stun.

"Jane, this is more dangerous than the battlefield that you went to nine years ago," her father insisted. "Just… keep an eye out for… each other then, okay?"

"I will not let Jane get hurt; I swear myself on that." The Kenpo master promised solemnly.

"You know, I really am capable of taking care of myself," she said, feeling a tad irritated. "Well, see you and Jenny later."

"Hey wait, don't you want this?" Jenny asked from a few feet away. She tossed the spear to the blonde tomboy.

After murmuring her thanks, Jane turned and rapidly walked off; looking apologetic, Long caught up to her and they had a whispered conversation amongst themselves. Letting out a heavy sigh, Alan shook his head, then went to his wife's side to check up on Stun.

****

End of Chapter 6


	7. Unsettled Business - Alice and Yugo's ba...

****

Bloody Roar III: Reunited by Chance, a Reflection of the Past

By Tiger5913

Chapter 7

Unsettled Business - Alice and Yugo's battle

__

An unexpected tech separated

The nurse and her boyfriend

From the others; unaware of the 

Situation her younger sister was in,

She sought out to counter her attacker.

Caught by surprise from the attack, the dark-haired woman rolled through the bushes that she crash into, while the branches tore at her black uniform and red stockings. She kept a hand plastered tightly over her matching black nurse cap as her body finally got out of the shrubbery and contacted the firm ground. Slowly, she stood up, wincing as she looked over herself and saw tiny rips in her leggings.

_That, that rude, crazy little…_ Alice thought, feeling upset while she brushed the leaves off of her clothing and quickly glanced at her surroundings.

The new area was completely encircled by trees, with green grass in the middle. As she inspected all the little things more closely, like the absence of flowers and the two beams of light shining toward the middle, she felt that it somewhat resembled a battle arena. Everything was disturbingly quiet. All of a sudden remembering about Busuzima, she immediately whirled around, her anxious red eyes scanning the darkened spots.

"Alice! Al-ice!!" she suddenly heard someone to her right call out.

Recognizing whom it was, she shouted in return, "Yugo!!"

Turning her head toward the direction of the voice, the female zoanthrope heard a figure running and crunching over dried leaves. A split second later, she saw someone jumped over the line of bushes and land shakily on the ground, crushing the crisp blades of grass underneath his shoes. Hastily brushing the small branches and green leaves away from his mahogany-colored shirt and jeans, Yugo darted over to his girlfriend.

"You okay?" he asked, giving her a tight hug.

She nodded against the collar of his brown denim vest. "Uh huh."

"Where is that frickin' S.O.B.?" the boxer questioned, breaking away from Alice and pulling on his punching gloves more tightly.

"I don't where Busuzima is; you didn't see him while you were coming here?" she inquired.

"If I did, then I would have beat the hell out of him." He stated bluntly.

"Don't be so vulgar, Yugo," Alice whispered to him, walking off and carefully searching the area.

"Sorry," Yugo apologized, looking a bit sheepish; he dashed to her side to help look.

"Such a jerk…" the blue-haired nurse muttered, still angry at the lizard zoanthrope that attacked her.

"Who, me??" her boyfriend questioned, surprised.

"No-oo, Busuzima!" she replied firmly.

"I thought that we all had taken care of him, that time we beat him up…" Yugo trailed off.

"Yeah, he was pretty battered and bruised…" she chimed in. She remembered having to fight against her instincts of showing hospitality for the green-haired zoanthrope after she, Yugo, Long, Uriko, and Kenji had all confronted the estranged scientist.

"The same goes for Shenlong," her boyfriend remarked. "He killed himself, according to Long, and right in front of his eyes too."

"I bet Xion's responsible for it," Alice guessed.

"If that's so, then he's gonna be one hell of an opponent." Yugo commented.

The dark brown-haired nurse crossed her arms over her chest. "Yeah, you have a point there."

"I wonder what the hell Uriko was talking about, Stun killing Busuzima?" He looked a little flustered.

"I don't know," she shrugged. "But we should ask her later."

The boxer frowned slightly. "So what should we do now? There's no sign of that limp-wristed bastard."

Suddenly, her eyes widened. "Yugo, look out!" She tackled him to the ground, shielding her body over the confused man, just as a figure sailed clumsily over their head. After watching the newcomer stumble to a landing several yards away, the dark-haired nurse stood erect, reaching her hand down to help her boyfriend up. The two of them peered at the intruder through the midst of the darkness in the area. But even though they couldn't see very clearly, they knew it had to be the lizard zoanthrope.

"You snatched Kenji again, didn't you?!" Yugo started shouting, taking a few steps foreword and raising his fist in anger. "Both you and Xion were in on this together!"

Standing up to face his opponent, Busuzima gave him and Alice a crooked smile as he replied silkily, "Y'all should know by now that I'd never share my bodyguards. The master was the one who nicked that little numbskulled mole boy brat of yours…"

"His name is Kenji, you bloody bastard!!" the boxer yelled fiercely, running at the foe.

Literally using his head as the saying goes; he knocked Busuzima's chest roughly, causing him to fall on his back. As the lizard zoanthrope was down, Yugo kicked at his knees, nudging for him to get up and fight. Rolling a few feet away from his opponents, Busuzima carefully stood up and eyed the couple angrily with his blood red pupils.

The wolf zoanthrope ran foreword at him, but he stomped on the boxer's foot when they were inches apart, while also yelling out, "Step off!" After that, he firmly wrapped an arm around to the other side of his opponent. Bending Yugo down, he slammed his large hand into the boxer's abdomen, watching in glee as he fell to the floor with a pained wince.

Seeing the situation, Alice darted at Busuzima, sliding down as she neared him, kicking at the former scientist's shins and tripping him. Yugo followed that up by grabbing both sides of his foe's head, and kneeing him directly in the face, sending him flying another couple of feet away. While he was still up, the dark-haired nurse back-flipped while moving foreword, kicking Busuzima even higher in the air with her brown sneakers. 

Before he plummeted to the floor, he managed to retract and came to a soft landing on the grassy earth underneath.

_Hehehe…I wonder how will they attack me if they can't see me…_ the evil zoanthrope pondered to himself, a plan in mind. 

Keeping his distance, he quickly back-flipped in place, morphing into his beast form in the process. His scaly amphibian features appeared and his eyes turned yellow, growing larger as well; a thin green tail also sprouted out from the bottom of his spine. The minute that happened, he swung his arms around and turned invisible, blending into the shadows.

As soon as he saw Busuzima vanish, Yugo muttered angrily, "Damn it," and sneaked a peek at his compatriot.

"That disappearing tech never did work to our advantage," Alice remarked, alerting herself and straining to listen for any noises. "You know, we might be able to hear better in our beast forms."

"I know that wolves have a keen sense of smell," her boyfriend said, scanning the area cautiously. "But I'm not so sure about hearing."

"Well, I'm not one to initiate a fight-" she started to say. 

"Oh really," Yugo interrupted, looking knowingly at her.

"Hey, you were injured and being uncooperative; it was for your own good!!" Alice protested, shaking a finger at him. "But if you'll just let me finish… I think that we should try."

He nodded his silent agreement. Swinging her arms around, the nurse concentrated on her rabbit form and black fur starting spreading over her body. Her pigtails grew taller, forming into the shape of two big ears while the rest of her hair got lost in the midst of the fur. Her arms and feet expanded slightly in size, turning into hard paws; lastly, a small cottontail attached itself to her rear.

Nearby, her boyfriend lifted his face toward the sky and as a burst of light enveloped him, he threw his arms toward the ground. Thick golden fur grew from his skin, causing the seams of his shirt and jeans to rip. His nose stretched out, turning into a snout and a short golden tail appeared behind him. The boxer's narrowed brown eyes were replaced by a fiery shade of red, portraying his true anger. 

Looking up and spotting the crescent-shaped moon, Yugo let out a long chilling howl. As he did that, Alice screeched at him, lifting her hand to her lips, indicating that he should be quiet. The wolf turned his maroon-colored eyes at her and growled his protest, but reluctantly obeyed. While the couple was having their little debate, the black-furred rabbit felt something wrap around her stomach and sling her over backwards; she crashed to the floor.

Noticing the motion and sensing a presence, Yugo made a wild guess and reached out where he assumed Busuzima was. When his claws connected with flesh and the amphibian reappeared into view, he discovered that he was right. Yanking his opponent toward him, the golden wolf sank his teeth into the chameleon's chest. He roughly jerked his helpless victim around a couple of times, then threw him into the air, where Busuzima came to a hard landing behind him.

Flipping back up, the former scientist crouched and grabbed Yugo's leg, flinging him over his shoulder. Turning his attention to the female zoanthrope, he lashed out a silvery-green tinted arm, striking her abdomen several times. While she clutched at her injuries, glad that they were already beginning to heal, Busuzima ran foreword and slashed her up.

Airborne, the rabbit tried to retract, but her foe struck at her body with several forceful punches. He then finished the combo by lying back on the ground and revolving his feet in a circular rhythmic motion, as if he were riding a bicycle. After kicking her in the face multiple times, he got up and sneered at the female rabbit, who had shaken her head dizzily.

Feeling really annoyed, Yugo rushed at Busuzima and jumped into the air, kicking the chameleon's chest with both of his feet. Deciding to execute another tech, he thought to himself, _Spiral Fang._

As soon as Busuzima got into a standing position, the wolf uppercut him right under his jaw. The foe reared back a bit stunned, but the boxer charged on foreword to finish the tech. Knocking the other male zoanthrope into the air, Yugo launched a fury of punches on him as they rose higher. Reaching a certain point, he latched his fangs onto Busuzima, then directed the both of them back toward the ground; as they landed, Yugo crushed the chameleon under him and bounced a few feet away.

A little weakened but still in his beast form, Busuzima raised his large estranged eyes at the boxer and flicked his tongue at him. Disgusted, Yugo spat at him, holding his fists up in anticipation and all of a sudden, the amphibian heard a swishing noise over his head, and saw Alice land next to her boyfriend. Angry at the turn of events, the evil zoanthrope pounced on his selected opponent, nicking the brown-haired man's head and throwing him into the air as he disappeared briefly.

While Yugo flailed in the air and Alice prepared herself to jump up and save him, Busuzima suddenly appeared again and knocked the rabbit up as well. Slicking his long tongue out, he stretched it so that it wrapped around the couple; as they struggled, the chameleon laughed mentally in sardonic glee. Turning his attention back to his attack, he battered the two of them on the ground three times, forming a triangle. Letting them go, Busuzima tossed them into a nearby tree as he came out of his beast form. 

Groaning, Yugo slid to the ground, his expression wavering as he clutched his arm, feeling something wet trickle down from it. Even though his head was pounding, he knew it was blood; slowly turning to look at his girlfriend, he saw that she was lying flat on the floor, still a rabbit. Crawling over to her, he gently nudged the nurse, arousing her into awareness. 

Shaking her head, Alice blinked her wide red eyes as she shakily stood up and looked back at her boyfriend. Spotting his bleeding arm and the numerous bruises and cuts marring his bare skin and smooth complexion, she let out a screech of surprise. Concerned, she bent down to his level and took out one of her black darts. Cutting it through the bottom of her black nurse uniform, Alice tore off a strip and wrapped it around Yugo's arm.

When she turned to his other injuries, the boxer waved her away, saying faintly, "Don't worry about me… take care of Busuzima…"

The rabbit shook her head and started ripping another strand off.

"Like I've said before, I don't want to be a nuisance! Besides, as much as I'm enjoying this 'strip tease'," Yugo said wryly, quickly looking at her to let her know that he was only kidding, "there's other matters to be more concerned about."

Thinking for a moment, she nodded reluctantly. Giving him a brief hug, a bit awkward due to her form, the female zoanthrope stood up to face her foe.

"Wee hee hee…" Busuzima snickered. "Looks like I get to experiment on a wolf and a little bunny!"

_Why that sleazy little-!_ She thought angrily.

Sprinting toward him as he began to laugh insanely, Alice knocked the unguarded psycho into the air with one leg, her back ending up turning to him. When he started to fall a little ways down, she kicked him away with both of her hind legs. As soon as Busuzima stood up again, the agile rabbit threw two darts at him for distraction. While he was twisting away from weapons, she ran at him, stopping when they were a couple of inches apart.

_Lifting Star Lane._ The nurse said silently to herself.

Alice punched at the male zoanthrope's stomach furiously, then suddenly grabbed the sides of his body and tucked him into a round ball. Tossing him up slightly, she bounced him on both of her knees, then delivered a forceful kick. Knocking him over her head as she turned back into human, he let out a painful scream, but was soon silenced. Physically exhausted, and also feeling mentally tired, the nurse fell to her knees and held a hand to her forehead.

"Alice!" she heard someone yell out, sounding close to her.

Twisting her head around to see the caller, Alice was relieved to see Jane darting toward her, while Long was running to Yugo. The blonde tomboy came to a stop and offered the nurse a hand, helping her stand up. Weakened, the rabbit zoanthrope faltered and her female companion took a hold of her limp arm.

"What happened??" Jane inquired, concerned about her condition.

"Busuzima…" Alice managed to reply weakly.

The leopard snarled. "Little piece of shit…"

"I thought we all beat him," a voice from behind chimed in.

The girls turned and saw the two guys; Yugo was standing, leaning against Long for support.

"Yugo!" The nurse cried. "Are you sure you're strong enough to stand??"

"This short guy is helping me out," her boyfriend answered, grinning at his helper.

"Hey now, I have an inch over you," the Kenpo master informed him in a stern tone of voice, although he grinned back. "Besides, you should respect your elders, Yugo."

"Oh, so now you admit that you're old?" Yugo kidded.

"You know, since you are feeling _so_ much better, I suppose I could just let you walk by yourself…" Long shot back with a small smile, loosening his grip on the boxer's shoulder.

"H-hey! Mercy!" the wolf yelped, staggering while his friends laughed. 

"I'm only kidding," the Chinese martial arts master informed, helping him again.

"You, make a joke?" Yugo asked with only half-mock astonishment. "What happened to the serious guy we all got to know and are used to, eh?"

His male companion didn't answer, just smiled as he shared a quick secret look with Jane. Catching that, the boxer teased lightly, "Ohh… I get it… Old Gado's daughter has a good influence on you…"

"He-ey," the blonde woman said. "We could say the same for you and Alice, Yugo!"

Alice chuckled at the comment. "I'm a good influence on him? How can we tell?" The three of them laughed while Yugo pretended to look hurt.

With a serious look on his face, the boxer suddenly asked, directing his question at Jane and Long, "Where **is** old Gado, anyway? And Jenny?"

"They're both with Stun," Jane answered.

"By the time we met up with them, Alan and Jenny had already finished their fight with Stun," Long added. "He was lying unconscious on the floor."

"Oh! Is he hurt badly?" Alice inquired, looking concerned.

"Well, I didn't exactly get a close-up…" the tomboy said dryly.

"We're not sure," the Kenpo master translated. "But Alan and Jenny stayed behind to tend to his injuries."

"I can help," the nurse remarked.

"…It's very generous of you to want to assist them-" Long started to say.

"-But you're injured yourself," Jane stated incredulously.

Alice sighed. "I suppose you're right… Hey, where's my little sister?"

"Uriko?" the leopard zoanthrope asked. "I don't know; Shenlong, Long, and I were the first to leave the center, remember?"

"…? Oh yeah… Alan, Jenny, and Stun left after you three did… Then Busuzima tossed me away…" The nurse frowned. "Yugo… did you see anything before you ran to this clearing?"

His cheeks looking a bit flushed, he didn't answer; the others all turned to him.

"Well, did you?" Jane asked.

Seeming guilty, Yugo nodded.

"Where is she?" his girlfriend questioned.

"Back at the center," he replied.

"By herself…?" Long inquired, eyeing the boxer.

"Yeah…"

"With Xion?!" Alice's voice rose a notch.

When he didn't answer, Jane narrowed her cool blue eyes. "Tell us, damn it! We need to know!"

"Yes. And Kenji."

"I would feel relieved about that situation, if only Kenji wasn't under _Xion's_ control and being force to fight **against** Uriko," the Kenpo master said as they all began walking; he appeared as irritated as Jane was. "I'm not saying that she is weak or anything like that - far from it - but none of us can handle both of them by ourselves."

"Come on, we've got to go to them!" Alice urged, tugging at her blonde friend's arm.

"I agree, but calm down, Alice!" Jane ordered. "You two are hurt, so we have to go slowly. She'll be able to hold out; trust me, I ought to know."

"Uriko has knocked Kenji's senses back before, I'm sure she will be able to do it again," her boyfriend added.

"Even so, let's hurry! I don't know what Mitsuko is going to do if Uriko gets hurt," the nurse insisted doggedly.

"Have some faith Alice," Yugo chimed in.

But even with their protests, the group hastened their pace, going toward the center of the park as fast and as carefully as they could.

****

End of Chapter 7


	8. Forced By Obligations - Uriko's battle

****

Bloody Roar III: Reunited by Chance, a Reflection of the Past

By Tiger5913

Chapter 8

Forced By Obligations - Uriko's battle

__

She faces him in battle without

Her consent or approval; to her, 

It seems to be a battle of the will.

Listen to her heart and prevent it…

Or cast aside her feelings and fight?

_I, I have to face him… don't have a choice…_

Standing alone in the chilly area, the young woman carefully backed away as her opponent started edging closer to her, clenched fists held up in front of his face. The tall shadows danced around his black-clothed body, appearing to attach themselves to his body and strengthen his aggressive attitude towards her. As the heel of her foot touched the bark of a tree, Uriko stopped, shivering when the cold wind brushed against her bared skin. The blue long-sleeved Chinese shirt paired with tight blue shorts that she had changed into was a thin barrier to the cool weather.

"Please… Don't make me do this Kenji…" she whispered, looking mournfully at him.

"If you don't fight, then the only other option is for you to die." The ninja replied with a blank, unemotional expression on his face as he calmly started walking toward her again.

_I can't do this…I care about him too much to hurt him… But if I don't fight, he's going to attempt to kill me…_ Uriko thought, biting her lip as her mind contradicted what she should do.

Without waiting for her confirmation, Kenji dashed at her and jumped with his leg outstretched, kicking her in the chest. As she fell back with a groan, he kicked the side of her thigh harshly and hissed at her, "Get up!" When she didn't respond, he slipped out a shuriken and aimed it threateningly at her. Spotting the small projectile, the Kenpo student rolled a few feet away before shakily standing up, grimacing.

"So what is your decision?" the ninja asked crudely. "Are you going to fight or cower before me?"

Gritting her teeth at the last part of his statement, Uriko straightened up into her five foot and seven inches tall posture. "Such a nasty attitude that he gave you," she commented.

"Shut up about my master," Kenji told her, snarling.

"I have a right to my own opinions," the young woman retorted.

"Foolish little girl." He said, tossing the shuriken at her.

"Hrmp, you're only three months older than I am, so don't act so cocky," Uriko shot back, agilely dodging the small object.

"Well, I have a reason to be cocky…"

"Oh, really," she said, deciding the bite the bullet. "And what's that?"

"You're too weak to defeat me." Kenji stated bluntly, an evil smile spreading over his lips.

"You, you little arrogant…" she huffed, annoyed with his attitude.

"I'm an arrogant what? Come on, shouldn't you finish the events that you start?" He goaded with a laugh.

"Kenji…" the name was a whisper as Uriko's face softened. "I know it's not really **you** saying those things…"

"Then you obviously do not know me as well as you think," the ninja concluded. "I will not be judged by the likes of you."

_I'll get the real you back, Kenji…_ she promised silently, while out loud she growled, "Grrrr… Let's just stop this useless chit-chat, shall we?"

"You are going to fight me, then?" He laughed bitterly. "Well, it's your funeral…"

"It doesn't appear as if I have much of a choice," Uriko told him, clenching her fists. "What, are you afraid of me or something?"

Glaring at her, Kenji replied in a low tone of voice, "So that's what you think? Hrmp… Don't waste your breath."

Slowly and maliciously, his arm reached around to his back; she eyed him cautiously. As his hand retracted partially, holding something furtively, the young woman caught a glimpse of a long thick handle. While she wondered what that was, the male zoanthrope sprinted foreword, keeping his other arm blocking his face. Leaping up to kick her again, Uriko quickly ducked and he went over her head, landing swiftly behind her.

She turned around to face him just in time. Latching the mysterious object under his dark brown ninja gi outfit; Kenji delivered numerous punches at her face. Uriko held up her arms in defense so he changed his target and kicked at both of her legs hard, tripping her. As she was starting to fall, the brown-haired girl quickly leaned back, stretching her arms over her head and back flipping safely away.

Annoyed, the ninja took out a few shurikens and tucked them into his fingers, then threw them all at her. Three of them dove past Uriko and etched themselves into her long white sleeves and also into the bark, pinning her pretty firmly to the tree behind. Kenji smiled wickedly at her situation and slowly slipped his other weapon into his hand.

While she struggled to get the small projectiles out and free herself, her opponent tossed the object at her. The second Uriko got away from her imprisonment, she suddenly saw something large flying toward her. While her body shrunk back, her hands instinctively went to the heavy pouch hanging from her waist. Unhooking the clips, the young woman yanked out her weapon and brought it in front of her face. 

The chain of her weapon clinked with the ninja's sharp, double-headed axe just in time, stopping it from viciously cutting into her flesh. Letting out a raspy breath of relief, the female zoanthrope put her arms down, shaking visibly, and gripped tightly in her hands was a nunchaku. Two pointy mace balls were attached to both ends of the black bars, which were linked together by a long, ash-colored chain.

Growling in irritation, Kenji quickly ran by the young woman and snatched up his axe, then pushed off the trees with his feet and landed before her. His knees bent and spread apart, the ninja held his weaponless hand in front of his face, keeping the other one holding the axe behind his head. He looked at her, his dark red eyes silently indicating his challenge.

Looking back at him cautiously, Uriko whipped her nunchaku around and over her head several times. Letting it come to a stop, she took a hold of each bar with both of her hands, stretching it out in front of her face. Slightly bending her knees, she kept one leg in front and the back for firmer balance as she stood still, watching the ninja with her wide, light brown eyes.

Making the first move, Kenji swung the axe around in a circular motion as he stepped foreword, clearly showing his experience. When he was only a few inches away from her, he jerked toward her with his weapon, faking a move. She expectantly twisted, dodging it and taking advantage of that, the blue-haired young man grabbed a hold of her arm. As she struggled, he managed to turn her around, and then he drove his foot into her back, kicking her away.

Putting her hands out in front of her, Uriko fortunately fell to her knees, as opposed to her face. Whirling around to face her opponent, she ran at him, then turned and knocked her back into his face. As the ninja fell and she bounced off, the young woman looked back down at him as he quickly flipped up into a standing position.

Angered, he precisely lashed his axe out at her; she countered that by kicking it away with her foot and twirling her nunchaku, hitting him in the cheek. His hand went up to cover the injury as he glared coldly at her, fury glowing in his narrowed maroon-colored eyes. Unwavering at his glare, Uriko gritted her teeth and swung the nunchaku at him a second time, aiming lower. But Kenji had seen that coming and grabbed one end of her weapon, yanking it roughly toward him. 

Keeping her hands gripped tightly on it, the brown-haired girl tugged back, murmuring angrily, "Let go of my weapon!"

Giving her nothing but a chilling smile in response, he dragged her close and kneed her in the stomach. Her grip loosening as she groaned involuntarily, the ninja took the opportunity to snatch her weapon and fling it aside into some nearby bushes. Uriko looked toward the direction where he threw the nunchaku and while she was distracted, he forced her down with his elbows, causing her head to bang against the ground.

Running over to his weapon, Kenji plucked the axe from the ground and turned his attention back to her. As she shook her head free of the dizziness, he pounced on her, pinning the Kenpo student to the floor with the weight of his body. Smirking coldly, he leaned toward her face level and held down her arms with one of his. She squirmed against her entrapment, trying to get him off of her.

"Don't you wish that you could take your words back?" he asked, his breath fanning hotly against her cheeks.

On the ground, Uriko struggled harder, and unknown to him, managed to wrench one of her hands free. Keeping it low, she inched it near her sheath while Kenji raised his arm and brought the axe down toward her throat. Feeling her fingers close around the coolness of a thin long object, she whipped it out and jabbed the butt of it on his hand forcefully. Not expecting her counterattack, the ninja lost his grip on the axe and it fell limply to the floor.

Turning the tables, Uriko leapt up, throwing him off and in turn, she yanked him to his feet by grabbing a handful of his navy blue top. Lifting him into the air, she took her sharp, silver bladed katana and slashed his blood red scarf off of his neck, revealing the thin black ring encircling his neck. Dropping the blue headed teenager, she jumped back as he fell to the floor, holding her weapon in a defensive position.

After he stood up, Kenji back flipped several times, finally coming to a landing atop a tree branch a couple feet away. Following him, Uriko ran toward the branch and jumped up; as she did the ninja quickly leapt at her, yelling out, "Not so fast!" Grabbing a hold of her, he slipped his hands underneath her armpits and locked them together. The two of them spun around in the air and as they started falling downwards, Kenji threw her to the ground. Landing smoothly, he folded his hands together while Uriko winced in pain, but she recovered quickly.

Crawling to her weapon, the female zoanthrope grabbed it and then swung her leg around to trip him. The ninja fell back but turned his stumble into a flip, like she had earlier, and regained his posture. Fixating an angry glare on his opponent, he went to her and began striking menacingly at different spots of her body with his axe. With expertise, Uriko quickly met every one of his blows, blocking them as he forced her to step backwards.

Breaking the close chain of contact, she shot a leg foreword and kicked his abdomen hard, letting a few inches come in between them. Gripping his stomach, Kenji waved it off and lashed out at her again, this time, his axe brushing against her arm. The young woman stifled a pained cry as the sharp blade cut through the fabric of her sleeve and sliced her tender skin. 

Gritting her teeth in determination, she twirled her katana over her head and then brought it near him. It connected with the middle of his chest and the blue-haired teenager grimaced, showing signs of pain. With his brief distraction in place, Uriko reared her leg back and then thrust it strongly at the mole zoanthrope's face, knocking him in the chin.

Rubbing his jaw with a brown-gloved hand, Kenji shook off the attack, merely looking irritated. Shrinking back a little, the brown-haired girl raised her arms up defensively, starting to feel a bit fearful. Noticing her change of mood, he smiled maliciously and taunted, "What's the matter? Are you cowering now?"

"Shut up…" she muttered bravely.

"Poor confused child," he continued. "And just when I was starting to have fun… You are almost a formidable opponent…"

_Man, that's it - I have my limits._ "You sure that I'm really the one who is confused and misled?" She retorted. "What about you, working for a madman, doing all his little dirty work?"

"Don't even go there!" Kenji yelled angrily.

"Why don't you grow up and quit acting so arrogant!" 

"Stay out of my life, you nosey bitch." The ninja hissed.

Her mouth dropped open in shock, her eyes aflame in anger. _How dare he-all right, now he's really gonna get it!_

An angry fire igniting in her wide brown eyes, Uriko slowly sheathed her katana for a temporary period. As soon as her hands left the weapon, Kenji hooked his axe back to the belt of his outfit and smiled coldly at her. Closing his eyes, he held up two fingers in front of his face, a resemblance of his former trademark move. Swaying them for a few seconds, he opened his eyes and pointed his fingers at the young woman as a trail of fire shot out from the tips.

"Play with fire and you're gonna get burned," he smirked.

The flames flew toward her, but she glanced unwaveringly at them while a chilly blue mist began swirling around her slim body, making her feel strengthened. When the fire was a few inches away, starting to flicker at her skin, it was immediately diminished as a small trail of the morning sky-colored mist countered it. A look of astonishment came over Kenji's face, but he quickly wiped it off and growled, not wanting to show his surprise.

"You think I'm that stupid?" she asked in a cool, emotionless tone of voice. "I recall telling you that if you were to ever use your fire technique on me, I would put it out with my own ice tech."

Shutting her eyes after saying that, Uriko limply lifted her arms at him as he started sprinting toward her. The mist gathered at the palms of her hands and soon shot foreword in a thin blue beam. Coming into contact with the ninja's body, it surrounded him and then solidified, both injuring and freezing him. With her opponent momentarily disabled, she ran and jumped up with her legs outstretched, kicking him into the air.

She waited a few seconds for him to descend, then punched his still-airborne figure four times. Bringing her leg up to knock his body down so that his feet touched the ground, the Kenpo student positioned herself over him for her combo. Striking him sixteen times in the head with her clenched fists, she paused briefly and put force into her final seventeenth hit, knocking Kenji to the ground.

By that time, her ice tech had already worn off; following the previous attack, she acted quickly and slid out her katana. Bending on her knees over him, Uriko raised her arms up over her head and brought it down hard at the ninja's neck. The blade of her weapon slashed through the thin ring, breaking the small object into several pieces. A moan escaped from the male zoanthrope's mouth and his head jerked involuntarily while the rest of his body shuddered briefly; squeezing his eyes shut, his head lolled to one side.

Losing her rough posture, Uriko's expression softened considerably as she arose and put her katana away. Kneeling once again, she slipped her hands under the back of the ninja's head, cradling him. Gently brushing his dark blue bangs away from his foreword, she lightly traced his facial features while looking down at him in concern.

_Oh… I-I hope I didn't hurt him too badly…_ "Kenji…?" she whispered, daintily touching his forehead. "…Are you okay?"

Suddenly, she felt a change in the climate and a burst of chilly air swished around the two of them. Getting a strange nagging feeling in the back of her mind, Uriko looked up by instinct and saw a levitating figure clothed in the black of the night.

"I'll be back later for just the two of you…" came the low threatening hiss that reached her sensitive ears as Xion disappeared into the darkness.

"Jerk," she muttered, the word being carried along into the wind. Just then, her hands felt a stir and she immediately turned her attention back to the person lying before her. "Kenji?"

Her response was a low moan.

Firmly but with gentleness, the young woman shook him a little. "Please… Open your eyes…"

His eyelashes fluttered for a few seconds, and then they slowly lifted up, blinking open while trying to focus. "Uriko…?"

Spotting the familiar light brown pupils flickering upon her face, she smiled, beaming. "You're back!"

The ninja winced as he hoisted himself on his elbows, lifting up a couple of inches from the ground. Shaking her head, Uriko gently eased him back down, saying in a slightly shaky tone of voice, "Nu uh, take it easy…you're hurt…"

"Ugh… migraine…" he protested weakly.

Nodding sadly, she replied, "Yeah, I understand… I-I'm…really sorry about that…"

"Let me sit up…please," he requested.

"O-Okay…" Holding a tight grip on each of his arms, the young woman slowly lifted him up, leaning him against her body in support. "Better?"

"Yeah… thanks."

Her arms went to loosely wrap around his abdomen and she gently hugged him. "Are you hurt really badly?"

"No… I can take it," Kenji answered, not wanting to make her feel any guiltier. Trying to convince her, he reached for her hand and squeezed it affectionately. But even as he said that, the Kenpo student placed her head atop his while tears slowly dripped from her eyes. A lone tear fell onto the ninja's dark blue hair and he could faintly feel it; he asked gently, "Are you crying?"

"No," she fibbed.

"Uriko… don't, or you'll get me started too…" the young man said.

"Oh, Kenji, the last time I saw you cry was almost three years ago…" she remembered, a small smile playing about her lips. "It was that first night-"

"-I stayed over at your house in the guestroom." Kenji finished. "I'll always remember that, trust me."

Dipping her head, Uriko whispered, "Talk about déjà vu…here I am injuring you again…"

"But you can't forget that both times, I wasn't myself; besides, I attacked you first," he reminded. "If I was, I would never be fighting you. Unless we were just practicing like at Ryan's party, but even then, I said that neither of us would morph."

"Ryan… Erika…" the names were barely heard. "Erika's still my best friend, you know…"

"I'm not surprised," the ninja replied, smiling weakly but then choked on a cough.

"Ugh, I should be checking your injuries, not sitting here rambling…" the brown-haired girl scolded herself. "Can you stand?"

"Um, yeah, sure…" he assured her. "But… uh, can you help me please?"

"Of course." She answered. "Wait, let me get up first…"

After loosening her grip on him and letting go of his hand, Uriko got to her feet and stepped in front of him. Reaching both of her hands down, she took a hold of his arms and slowly lifted him into a standing position. On his feet, the ninja felt a little off-balance and fell back against her; she quickly went to help him. All of a sudden, she remembered something and picked an object up from the ground.

"By the way, here…" the young woman said, handing Kenji his axe. "Just curious, where'd you get that? And the 'endless supply' of shurikens?"

"I got the axe while I was on my little 'vacation'," he answered, emphasizing on the last word as he tucked the weapon away. "And the shurikens were a present from Yugo before I left; he said it was in case I needed some kind of weapon. What about your sword?"

"My katana was a gift from Master Long on my seventeenth birthday," she told him. "The nunchaku came from Mother and Alice."

Kenji winced. "Um, I think it's in the bushes somewhere… sorry for taking it from you…"

"That's okay," Uriko said. "I'll look for it tomorrow when there's better lighting."

All of a sudden, they heard several voices call out, sounding a little distant, "Uriko! Uriko, where are you?!"

Recognizing her friends and sister, she shouted back, "Right here!! And Kenji's with me!"

A few rustling noises were sounded near the two teenagers and they turned toward the direction. Out from the bushes came four of their compatriots; Alice was leaning on Jane, and Yugo was being assisted by Long.

"Alice!" the cat zoanthrope exclaimed.

"Uriko! You're okay!" The nurse slowly hobbled over to her younger sister with help from the blonde tomboy.

"Kenji!!" Yugo shouted, going toward the ninja with the Kenpo master beside him, but then hesitated and turned to Uriko; "He's alright now?"

She nodded.

Noticing a couple of his brother's bruises, the boxer stated matter-of-factly, "You two had to fight."

The young woman and Kenji nodded silently in unison.

"Oh, look at this!" Alice examined a particularly vicious cut on Uriko's arm through the slit in her long white sleeve, where the ninja's axe had slashed her.

"I-it's nothing," her sister said absentmindedly, then gestured her head at Kenji. "What about Kenji? Is he going to be okay?"

Taking a look over him, the nurse nodded. "You both will recover soon, don't worry."

"It helps being fast healers," Jane commented.

"Where is Xion?" Long asked, suddenly taking notice that the villain wasn't around.

"Ran off right after Yugo left," his disciple replied. She started to tell them about what Xion had threatened her after she had destroyed Kenji's black ring, but decided against it.

"Coward." The boxer sneered.

"We need to get you two home," Alice said, indicating toward the teenagers. "Jane, Long, go to Alan and Jenny and tell them we're taking Uriko and Kenji… wait… Uriko, would your mom mind if we went to your house?"

"No, I don't think so," the brown-haired girl answered with a negative shake of her head.

"Okay, we'll go there then," the rabbit zoanthrope decided, then looked at the others. "Is that okay with the rest of you?"

"We'll get right on it," the Kenpo master told her, answering for both him and Jane. 

"It's fine, but we better hurry," Yugo said as the other couple ran off.

"Do you feel strong enough to walk, Kenji?" Uriko asked her companion, looking at him questioningly.

"Yeah… I'll be fine… don't worry…" he managed to weakly answer before going unconscious.

****

End of Chapter 8


	9. A Pang Of Longing

****

Bloody Roar III: Reunited by Chance, a Reflection of the Past

By Tiger5913

Chapter 9

A Pang Of Longing

__

Watching her approach another,

Makes a jealousy flare up inside.

However, no angry words or threats

Escapes his mouth; but that doesn't mean

He won't fight for her to come back.

"This is nice weather, isn't it?"

"Yeah, I agree."

Sitting upon a bench that was out on Uriko's front porch, the two of them were leaning against each other, watching the sun set into the darkening sky. It was two days after the fighting incidents in the park, and they were relaxing, healing up from their injuries. Surprisingly, no one had bothered Kenji about what had happened to him on the trip, although he promised himself that he would come clean that evening.

"Uriko!" a voice from inside the house called.

"Do you need me to help you with something, Mother?" she inquired, getting up from her comfortable position.

"No, but thank you for the offer. Matt is on the phone for you!" Mitsuko answered.

"Oh… okay."

Reluctantly, Uriko stood up while Kenji asked curiously, "Who's Matt?"

"He's… a guy that I know," she told him; that part **was** the truth, after all.

"Oh…" the ninja fell silent, sensing her unease.

Quickly turning away, the young woman went inside the house and into the living room. Picking up the receiver from the table that the phone was on, she greeted timidly, "Hi."

"Hey Uriko," Matt said back. "Uh, I know that this is kind of short notice…but are you available now?"

"I think I have a little time, but I kind of have company over…" she answered truthfully.

"Come have a quick dinner with me?"

"Um…"

"Please?" he persisted.

"I-I guess so," she said finally.

"Great! Pick you up in twenty minutes?" he questioned.

"Yeah, sure."

"Well, I'll see you then."

"Bye…" she said softly.

Matt hung up.

_Man, I hope Kenji won't mind if I leave for a little bit…_ the brown-haired girl thought as she replaced the receiver back onto the phone. 

Walking into the kitchen, she saw Mitsuko preparing a meal and told her, "Um, Matt's coming in twenty minutes to pick me up for dinner… is that okay?"

"That's fine with me," her mother answered, then jerked her head toward outside. "But you better tell **him** also."

"Yeah, I know… I'll talk to you later, Mother," she said, and started going back out onto the porch.

"Hey," the ninja greeted, smiling at her, still sitting on the bench. "Back so soon?"

"Hi, um, yeah…" she hesitated.

"What's wrong?" Kenji asked, his smile disappearing.

"Nothing really," Uriko replied. "But…is it all right with you if I leave for a little bit? I'll be back in about an hour or so."

"Oh, sure… but you didn't really have to ask me…" he answered with a stiff smile.

_He doesn't care… I-I guess we're over then… _She sighed and then grinned, trying to hide her disappointment. "Whew, um, I thought you'd feel like I was ditching you or something."

"No way, I'm fine," he assured her, forcing a smile.

"Well… I'm going upstairs to change," the young woman said. "Talk to you after I get back?"

The blue-haired teenager nodded.

"Thanks," she said, giving him a quick hug before going into the house.

_Damn, I should have asked… _he cursed himself silently. _I feel like such a freaking coward._

His hand slipped into the pocket of his blue jeans and pulled out a small red pouch. Fingering it, he looked down at the bag for a few minutes, then heard footsteps nearby. Putting it away, the ninja casually sat back as Uriko ran out of the house, dressed in a black vest over a white shirt paired with black leather pants. Glancing at her, he smiled, remembering that as one of her favorite outfits.

"Hi again!" she said to him cheerfully, and then twirled around. "Do I look okay?"

_Of course, you have true inner beauty constantly emitting from you… _Out loud, Kenji replied sincerely, "As always."

Grinning widely at him in response, the two of them looked at each other for a silent moment. The short period was interrupted by a loud honk of a horn and Uriko turned to see Matt getting out of his car. As he shut the door and started walking toward her, she sent a faint smile in Kenji's direction before silently waving good-bye to him. As soon as she wasn't facing him, the young woman ducked her head, hiding her solemn expression.

Looking up at her date, a thin smile spread over her lips as she greeted, "Hi there."

He smiled. "Hey, ready to go?"

"Yeah," she replied softly, nodding.

  
Opening the door to the passenger side, Matt gestured toward it and she ducked her head, sitting into the cushioned seat. As soon as he went around to the other side and got in also, he started the ignition and the Kenpo student looked back at the ninja as they drove off. Watching her forlornly, Kenji let out a heavy sigh and ran a hand absentmindedly through his hair in slight frustration.

"Matt is a bit unfitting for her," a voice nearby remarked.

Turning his head to look at Mitsuko, he answered, "I-I can't really comment; I don't know him very well, after all." _And if I did, I'm sure that we wouldn't get along…_

"You still like my daughter," the woman stated somewhat matter-of-factly.

_I still love her, yeah… _"You're right, Ms. Nonomura, I do."

"And this isn't a petty feeling, I take it?" she questioned. "You are serious about Uriko, aren't you?"

"Yes, of course." The blue-haired teenager said in a low tone of voice, although there was passion in his words.

"Then do something about it."

"She seems contented with _Matt_," he narrowed his eyes with the emphasis on the name. "…Still, you're right. I can't sit idly by and not do anything."

Mitsuko smiled warmly. "Good luck. Although I don't think that you'll need it."

Nodding and smiling back gratefully, the young man said, "Thanks for the encouragement. I appreciate your vote of confidence."

"You're very welcome, Kenji. Well, I am going to step out for a little bit," she told him, shutting the door. "Keep the door unlocked if you go inside, all right?"

"Okay," he replied.

After the boar zoanthrope walked down the pathway and disappeared around the corner, Kenji was left alone. Thinking silently to himself for a few moments, he took out the pouch again and glanced at it tentatively. All of a sudden, he heard something creak and a soft mew reached his ears; knowing whom it was, he smiled and glanced around the area.

"Kineko?"

Upon hearing her name, the black kitten jumped into the ninja's lap and purred as she rubbed her head of soft fur against his callused fingers.

"Hey there…" he greeted softly.

Kenji started gently scratching the top of her head and Kineko mewed her approval.

"What do you think I should do, huh?" the mole zoanthrope questioned rhetorically in a soft tone of voice. "You think I have a chance with her?"

Looking up at him with her jade-yellow eyes, the cat purred her response.

"We've known each other for a pretty long time…" he said. "But I think our separation has left quite a gap…"

Kineko glanced quizzically at him, then made a swift gesture with her head, as if saying, "So?"

"I wonder if her feelings for me have changed…" Kenji wondered, then felt a bit disgusted with himself. "I can't expect Uriko to wait around for almost three years and restrict herself from other guys… I don't want her to be a recluse or anything like that… she deserves her freedom…"

"Mrrowll…" came from the black kitten.

_I need to find out… I have to do something about this,_ he decided, letting Kineko hop down from his lap before getting up. The red pouch clutched tightly in his hands, he turned and headed into the house.

*****

__

Well, breaking up with him went all right, I think…

Standing on the bottom step leading up to her porch, Uriko hesitated briefly, glad that Matt was understanding with her decision. A small smile coming to her face, she went up to the door, and unlocked it, escaping the tiny rays of the afternoon sun; going inside, she was surprised to find the house dark. Finding a lamp in the living room with her eyes, she flicked on the switch and light enveloped the area.

_Hmm, I guess Mother's out with Alice or something…_ she guessed when she saw that the room was empty and the whole place was quiet. _I hope Kenji got home okay… is he mad at me?_

Sighing, Uriko walked pass the living room and flicked on several more lights around the house, then headed toward the stairs. Climbing them, she soon reached the top and turned on the hallway light overhead as well. Going across to her room, the brown-haired girl twisted the knob and pushed open the door. Stepping inside, she closed her eyes and yawned, stretching out her arms over her head.

She reopened them after a moment, staring into the darkness. All of a sudden, little flames ignited atop several small blue candles aligning along the walls of her room, dimly enlightening its surroundings. The fiery flames flickered in the air, bending and wavering to the direction of the breeze she had caused when she entered the room.

Just then, a couple more candles lit up across the room, sticking out from the decorative scenery; curious, she crossed over to her desk. Getting a closer look, Uriko saw that it was a white sheet of paper with words written on it. Curiously, she picked the note up and read the contents:

__

Uriko,

I hope you didn't think that I was ditching you when you found me gone from the porch. I had something really important to do. But speaking of importance, I feel that I really need to tell you something, although I will hopefully phrase it better in this letter than verbally. I don't think it'd be very appealing if I stuttered every few words, heh…

When I left, I was afraid that we wouldn't be so close anymore. However, after the fight in the park the other night, I discovered that I don't feel any different about you than the way I did three years ago. I hope that this won't interfere with you and Matt's relationship, but I have to let you know that I still love you. I mean, deeper than the just-friends kind.

Remember that time you were thrown a surprise party on your fifteenth birthday? After Alan and Jenny announced their engagement, you and I went outside and found Long and Jane sitting together. Jane made a comment about toasting us on our own engagement, and as I stammered back my answer, you looked at me all surprised, but there was still compassion in your eyes. I've been thinking, could now be the time that I can attempt to have our bond become stronger…?

Love,

Kenji

Her eyes widened slightly after she read the letter and the paper fell silently from her hand to fall onto her desk. Hastily going over to her bed and sitting on it, Uriko placed her palm on her forehead, making sure that she wasn't hallucinating. Shutting her eyelids, the young woman breathed deeply as her heart was pounding fiercely.

"Are you alright…?" A low voice asked gently with concern.

Jerking her head toward the direction of the sound, her eyes shot open to spy someone appear from behind the inside of her door. Pushing it slightly closed, the shadowy figure slowly walked over to her, hands folded behind their back. Stopping a few inches away, Uriko saw the light from a candle beside her flicker upon Kenji's face, revealing his solemn features. She nodded her reply, unable to answer him verbally.

"I hope you're not mad at me…" he said quietly.

She tried to laugh, but coughed instead. "No… why would I be? I care about you so much after all…"

"Am I… pushing you in any way?" the ninja questioned timidly.

"I… no, of course not…"

Looking intensely at the young woman, he sat down beside her. "…How do you feel?"

"What?"

"You know my feelings… I'd like to know yours," he explained. "If that's all right to share…"

Her eyes watered slightly.

"Detest me that much?" Kenji kidded weakly.

"No way, I don't." She said firmly. "I-I still love you too…"

A bit of surprise was shown in his eyes. "But what about…"

"Matt?" Uriko asked. "We went out for a short while, but I ended it tonight… it wasn't anything really serious. Erika introduced us."

"I hope I don't offend you when I say that I'm glad it wasn't serious," the ninja admitted timidly, then cleared his throat. "Uriko…"

Meeting his eyes, she inquired softly, "Yeah?"

"I-I have something to ask you…"

  
"Go ahead, I'm listening," the brown-haired girl said warmly with a lighthearted smile.

"About what I said in the letter…" he started. "Did that scare you?"

She hesitated, then answered honestly, "No, it doesn't. I'm a bit surprised, but I'm not scared off or anything like that…"

"I'm glad that you're not," he told her sincerely. "Because… my next question is… Um, I…"

"Don't be nervous; you can ask me anything," Uriko assured him, taking a hold of his hand with her clammy one and squeezing gently.

Without saying anything, Kenji reached his free hand into the pocket of his dark denim jeans and pulled the furtive velvet pouch into view. Slipping his other hand out of hers, he opened the red bag and looked tentatively inside. Letting the object inside fall out onto his lap, the Kenpo student sucked in her breath when she saw that it was a small black box.

"We won't proceed through the actual event until we're both ready," he said to her softly. "…But I, I want to ask if… if you…want to be engaged to me… and vice versa as well…"

As her eyes widened, one of the young woman's hands went to cover over her mouth. She had kind of sensed that he would be asking her a question like that, but to have it actually happen…

"If you don't want to, Uriko, I understand," the blue-haired ninja told her quickly, not wanting to pressure her.

_I should have waited… damn it…_ he thought to himself after silence had fell between them, and sighed as he lowered his head. But soft, slender fingers caught the peak of his chin and slowly lifted his face back up. Kenji met her gaze, staring into the depths of her light brown pupils as she replied quietly, "Yes…"

"…What?" he stammered.

Giving him a shy smile, Uriko repeated, "Yes. I want to, Kenji."

"R… R-really?" the blue-haired teenager asked.

The Kenpo student nodded her confirmation, then her smile widened as she slipped her arms around his neck, linking her hands together and hugging him to her tenderly. An ecstatic shout formed a lump at the base of the mole zoanthrope's throat, threatening to escape, but he kept it down, and tightly hugged her back. 

After a long, slow moment, he pulled away slightly from the embrace while she looked quizzically at him. Taking a hold of the dark-colored box, Kenji faced it toward her as he snapped open the lid, revealing the contents inside.

Glancing down, Uriko was met by a small circular object. In the darkness of the room, she could still catch a faint glimmer off from it, despite the weak lighting of the candles. As her eyes emitted her own personal source of light, she saw a stone of beautiful sapphire resting clearly in view. While the rest was buried amongst the black velvet surroundings, the young woman faintly spied a glint coming from the golden band.

Lifting her eyes up from the object, she whispered throatily, "W-where did you get such a beautiful ring?"

"I bought that before encountering Xion for the first time," Kenji informed. "I-I got the ring with the intention of keeping it until… I worked up the nerve to ask you what I just did…"

She sucked in her breath sharply and smiled timidly. "Wow… I can't believe that someday, we'll… we'll be…"

"…Married…" he finished quietly for her softly, smiling back as he grasped her left hand gently and slipped the ring onto the fourth finger.

Uriko glanced down at the symbolic object on her finger; the moment he put the ring on, their relationship was bound more tightly. Staring into the depths of the blue crystalline sapphire, she could see their strong commitment confirmed. Looking up into the warm brown eyes of her fiancé, the young woman smiled and threw her arms around his waist. Returning her embrace, Kenji smiled as well, gently stroking the long thin strands of her auburn-colored hair.

"What do you think the others are gonna say about this…?" she asked into his shoulder softly.

"I'm not sure, Riko…" he answered with uncertainty. "But I bet Yugo will have a really drastic response. Either that, or he'll be whooping."

The seventeen-year-old female giggled. "Alice would probably ask about our health insurance or something!"

The ninja laughed.

"I'm sure that Mother would ask us about our future though," Uriko said seriously. "I am going to college in September and I will be starting work next week."

"I'll go take a test to receive a diploma," he told her. "That should be the equivalent of graduating. What's your job?"

"Assistant to the vice-president of a computer company," she replied. "Hey, my supervisor may need another one; want to apply?"

"Sure."

Uriko grinned. "We'll go tomorrow."

After nodding his confirmation, the two of them smiled as they slowly leaned toward each other. Just before their lips met, a loud shout coming from downstairs interrupted them; "Uriko!"

Pulling back with a disappointed groan, she responded, "I'm in my room, Mother!"

"Actually, it's Alice!" Her sister informed. "Everyone else is here, including Aunt Mitsuko. Can you come down?"

"All right…" the Kenpo student replied, rising from the bed and pulling Kenji up with her.

"Should we tell them?" he asked as the couple approached the door.

"Not right now," she answered. "Let's wait until you tell us about what happened to you at the capital…"

"Oh, that's right," the ninja said. "I owe you all an explanation, don't I."

"Well, it'd certainly be appreciated," his now-fiancée remarked. "I do not want to be left in the dark any longer."

"Don't worry, I'll tell what happened," he said.

Smiling, he quickly pecked her on the cheek as they went down the stairs, hand in hand.

****

End of Chapter 9


	10. Beginning The Explanation

****

Bloody Roar III: Reunited by Chance, a Reflection of the Past

By Tiger5913

Chapter 10

Beginning The Explanation

__

Some of the truth gets revealed

And they're no longer completely

Left in the dark; but still…

There's an ever-deeper secret,

That has to be uncovered.

Walking into the living room, the two of them saw their friends. A few of them were sitting around on the couch and the others were standing while they conversed amongst themselves. Upon seeing the couple's arrival, Alice looked a little surprised as she said, "Oh, I didn't know that Kenji was here too…"

"Were you both upstairs?" Mitsuko inquired.

"Yeah," her daughter answered.

"But we didn't do anything except talk," Kenji added. _Well, that and getting engaged…_ he thought silently to himself, grinning as the hard bump from Uriko's ring reminded him of the event.

"That's fine; I trust the two of you," Mitsuko told them with a warm smile.

"Thanks Mother," the cat zoanthrope said gratefully. "Oh hey, I have a question… Alan, Jenny, what happened to Ste-Mr. Goldberg?"

"He's being taken care of at my hospital," her sister replied with a faint smile. "He's in good hands."

"That's good," Uriko said. "But… what about Busuzima and Shenlong?"

The twenty-five year old frowned. "I… I'm not sure… Yugo and I didn't really check…"

"After taking care of Steven, Jenny went to go take a look at them. She found the both of them gone," Alan informed them all.

"Well, that's just wonderful…" the ninja said sarcastically, a wary expression on his face.

"Kenji, are you feeling all right today?" Yugo asked, looking over his younger brother carefully. "We want to know if you feel up to explaining what happened-"

"But if you're not doing so well, no pressure." The blue-haired nurse finished while the others nodded their agreement.

"Don't worry about me… I'm fine," he told them. "Let's get started, then?"

Descending to the light gray carpeted floor, he and Uriko sat down, facing everyone else. On the couch, Jane and Jenny immediately got up from their spots and gestured toward the seat. The couple shook their heads firmly in unison and the two women seated themselves back slowly. Mitsuko and Alice sat across from the teenagers while Yugo leaned against one arm of the couch. Long and Alan remained standing on the two opposite sides, each next to their significant other.

"Everyone comfortable?" the ninja questioned, glancing around as they all nodded.

"How about you?" Uriko countered.

He turned to her and smiled. "I'm okay; thanks. …Well, quoting from my dear older brother," he paused and grinned at Yugo. "'Here we go!'"

Looking at the others with a serious expression on his face, Kenji admitted, "First of all, I have something to confess. I know that I told Yugo I was going to the capital to visit a friend, but…"

"You really went to look up your hospital records." The boxer finished for his younger brother.

"…How did you know?" the blue-haired ninja questioned, appearing a bit surprised.

"Uriko told us that was what you said to her three years ago," Jane answered. "But you'd better not blame her or anything; she didn't know that you had told Yugo a different story."

"Why did you lie?" the wolf zoanthrope inquired in a gentle, un-accusing tone of voice.

"I knew that you'd want to come along, but I wanted to do this by myself," Kenji told him. "I had to take care of this alone."

"It is dangerous to travel by yourself to a place that you don't know very well," Long commented. "I'm not saying you could not have handled the situation solo, but perhaps you could have asked Yugo to go with you."

"He was busy so I didn't want to disturb him," the ninja countered, then turned to grin at Yugo as he joked lightheartedly, "Besides, I'd most likely ask Uriko first if I wanted anyone to come with me."

"Gee, I feel honored now," the brown-haired boxer replied, rolling his eyes in exasperation, but then winked at Uriko while her cheeks flushed pink at what her fiancé had said.

"I don't mean to interrupt…" Alice chimed in suddenly. "But what happened after you arrived there, Kenji?"

"I first went to an inn to rent a room and drop off my belongings," he replied. "The hospital was my next destination."

"But how did you know where to begin?" Jane piped up. "I mean, it's complicated to look up a record if you don't know your birth name."

"Yeah, I found that out pretty soon," the ninja said a bit sheepishly. "However, as I was leaving the receptionist table, feeling kind of dejected, a woman came up and stopped me. She asked what I was looking for, and so think that perhaps she could have helped, I told her all that I knew about myself." 

Pausing briefly, he looked around at the raised eyebrows of his companions, and quickly added, "Don't worry, I didn't mention any names, or reveal my zoanthrope abilities. But the interesting thing is that I had sensed the woman to be a zoanthrope herself."

"Really…?" Uriko asked softly, surprise glimmering in her large brown eyes.

Kenji nodded. "Yeah, and after a short while, she asked if I was 'one of us too'."

"Rather straight-foreword," Alan commented.

"I know," the mole zoanthrope replied. "But I just didn't answer. The woman smiled and told me that there were special files stored away for zoanthropes because people didn't want our information 'mixed in' with theirs."

"'Normal' beings probably won't ever truly accept us," Long remarked. "People are afraid of what they don't know…"

"You're right about that, Master," his disciple said. "Even after Alan gave his speech at the conference, people were only barely reassured on the subject of zoanthropes."

"…Well, you won't believe what kind of information I found on other zoanthropes like us," the ninja continued. "The woman brought me this secret room in the local library and showed me a lot of file cabinets containing data.

"At first, I didn't really know how to look anything up myself, but she told me that they all went by way of different animal beast forms, followed by the names in alphabetical order."

"What does that mean?" Alice inquired.

"I think, for example, our documents would all be separated by our beast forms," her younger sister offered. "Like yours would be in 'rabbit', Yugo's would be in 'wolf', Kenji's would be in 'mole', and so on." She frowned slightly. "I'm not sure where I would fit in though… I doubt there's a cat category…"

"Oh, trust me Uriko," her fiancé assured. "There were a lot of different animal categories. Besides," he grinned. "I looked everyone's up first before my own, just to get the hang of it."

"But Uriko…" Mitsuko chimed in. "You weren't always a cat… do you remember back when you were nine years old?"

"Tylon…" her daughter and Kenji hissed disapprovingly in unison.

"I don't even know what I was myself," the Kenpo student admitted. "Some kind of grown woman… then that large, hideous red beast…" she bit her lip.

"I still searched under cat for you though," the blue-haired teenager said. "I found your file."

She sighed. "That's good…"

"Uh… I found everyone else's too," he informed, looking around the room at the others. "I Xeroxed copies for you all."

The brown-haired young woman smiled and squeezed his hand. "Thanks… can you bring them down later?"

"Sure," he answered, smiling back at her.

"Go on, continue…" she urged. "What information did you find on yourself?"

"......" the ninja cast his eyes to the carpet.

"What's wrong Kenji?" Yugo questioned.

"…I didn't find any files on myself, but on my parents," he said finally.

Uriko slightly tilted her head to one side in curiosity. "You mean, there's no information on you?"

"No, not a damn thing," Kenji told her, shaking his head in negativity. "I also found and read a few articles on this interesting couple though."

"Why did they appeal to you?" Jenny asked.

"Because the woman died at the birth of her child and her husband was assassinated several years later."

The nurse gasped. "Really?!" The young ninja nodded his reply numbly. "By who?"

"I don't know; they didn't say," Kenji said with a shrug. "But something interesting is that he was killed the same year that reports of kids being snatched and taken away had started.

"According to the last article that I read, " he continued. "The house was put on fire after the man was assassinated. Nearby neighbors reported it at around after midnight. Reporters also found out that his six-year-old son, Bryan, mysteriously disappeared."

"He wasn't found in the fire?" asked Uriko.

"Nope."

"Did you find any other info on him?" she persisted.

"Well, I just found a bunch of pictures on the family," Kenji informed her. "But other than that, nothing else."

"So… why did they interest you?" his fiancée questioned, whispering into his ear and looking into his light brown pupils.

"… Let me go upstairs and get those papers for you all…" the ninja said, glancing away as he arose from the ground.

A bit of confusion in her eyes, she got up along with him and told the others, "Let's take a break. Meet back here in about ten minutes?"

After her companions nodded, the Kenpo student followed the blue-haired teenager as he slowly walked toward the stairs. Their friends all resumed standing positions, stretching their muscles out comfortably.

"Oh, one more question Kenji," Alice started.

The two of them paused and he turned around. "Yeah?"

"What was the name of the man?" the nurse asked.

"…Adam Takiyo," came the quiet answer before he and Uriko disappeared up the stairs.

*****

At the name, the dark-haired Kenpo master felt an jolt of surprise go through his body. Noticing his reaction, Jane cast a questioning look at him as he ducked his head and went toward the door leading outside. While the others were oblivious, the blonde tomboy followed and shut the wooden frame after her. Sitting down next to him on the front porch, she took note of his face looking at the ground and his hands dug into his long black hair.

"Is something wrong?" she asked somewhat timidly, bringing her face nearby his, her cool blue eyes watching his closed eyelids.

"Adam Takiyo…" was his soft whisper.

"Long?"

"I… know of that person…"

"Oh… I'm sorry." Frowning sadly, Jane placed an arm around his figure in compassion.

"No, you don't understand…" he said. "Jane… remember about two and half years ago… when I told you about my past…"

"Yes, I remember…" she replied quizzically.

"He… he's the last person I was… assigned to kill before I quit. And his son was the one whom I turned into an orphan…" Long looked up at her with a pained expression in his eyes.

"Are you sure??" the leopard zoanthrope asked.

"Of course; Tylon told me the names of the people I were to assassin beforehand."

"But how does Adam Takiyo relate to Kenji?" Jane wondered.

"I don't know," her boyfriend said softly.

"If he's special to Kenji… do you think you should tell him…?" she questioned softly.

"It is my responsibility to," he replied. "After he's done with his story. But… do you think you could accompany me, Jane?"

"Oh… sure," she said, nodding her confirmation.

Giving her a small smile, the tiger zoanthrope wrapped his arms around her and whispered, "Thanks."

_I wonder if you know how much you mean to me, Jane…_ he thought to himself.

*****

Upstairs, the young couple had reached the peak and Kenji walked across the hall. Stepping into her room, he flipped on the light switch and proceeded to a blue duffel bag that lay on the ground, next to her bed. Unzipping it, he reached inside and pulled out a stack of papers; as he turned around to leave, Uriko stood stubbornly in front of him.

"What are Adam and Bryan Takiyos' relationship to you?" she inquired.

"......" He looked silently at her, then cast his eyes away.

"Tell me, Kenji," the brown-haired woman persisted.

"I'll let you all know downstairs… after everyone reads their documents…" was his quiet reply.

A small frown nipped at her eyebrows but she nodded anyway. "You promise?"

He smiled faintly and told her sincerely, "You know I won't lie to you, dear Riko."

"Don't worry, I trust you…dear Kenji," she grinned at him.

"Let's get going," the ninja said, linking his right hand with her left.

Flipping the light switch off and shutting the door behind her, the Kenpo student followed his lead and the two of them stepped softly down the stairs. Going into the living room, their friends looked up and reverted their attentions to the teenagers.

"Everyone here?" Kenji asked.

"Um…" Uriko scanned the room. "Where are Master Long and Jane?"

"I think they went outside." Jenny gestured toward the front door.

"Uriko, can you give these to them?" the blue-haired ninja asked, handing two manila folders to her.

"Sure," she replied, taking them with one hand and reaching for the knob with the other.

Stepping outside, she almost walked into the couple, who were both sitting on the stone steps in an embrace. Spotting Uriko's arrival, they straightened up and arose from the porch.

"Um, hi," she greeted timidly. "Kenji told me to give these to you two."

"Thank you," her martial arts instructor said, taking both of them and passing one to Jane.

"Do you want to come back in?" the brown-haired girl questioned.

"Yeah, it's getting cold," Jane commented, shivering while the cold air swept past her bare arms.

Nodding, the young woman went back in, followed by her friends. In the living room, they saw each person hunched over their own file, with the exception of Kenji; he was sitting silently in the same spot as before. Uriko joined him, leaving Long and Jane to glance at their own documents, still standing by the door. 

"Here's yours," Kenji said, handing her a beige-colored folder.

"Thanks…" his fiancée replied, accepting it.

Looking down at the file, she hesitated before opening it, feeling a bit nervous about what she might see.

"Rest assured, there's nothing bad in there," the ninja informed her.

"You already read it?"

"Um, yeah…" he replied sheepishly. "I don't mean to invade your privacy or anything, though…"

"No, it's alright," Uriko said, pulling back the cover. Scanning her eyes over the document, she skimmed past her birth information, parents, and settled upon one of the latest files:

__

At nine years of age, young Uriko Nonomura was previously recognized as one of the many innocent children being controlled by the Tylon Corporation. With help from her mother, Mitsuko Nonomura, and other close companion, Alice Tsukagami, the young girl luckily managed to escape the binds of Tylon.

A small shadow of a smile started to form over Uriko's lips; placing the paper down, she browsed the rest of the folder. Just as she was shuffling through a few articles, a flat, square-shaped object fell out from the pile. Picking it up, the young woman peered at it and found out that it was a colored picture of a person from neck up.

Looking down closely at the person in the photograph, her curious brown eyes saw the image of a young boy with ebony black hair staring back at her and the long, stringy bangs dancing in front of his forehead. Appearing about six or seven years of age, she noted the slight look of sadness and an emotionless tone in his wide, almond-shaped eyes of light brown and the faint shade of orange flashing in the midst of the pupils. Scrawled at the bottom of the picture was the name, "Bryan Takiyo."

After seeing that, Uriko lifted her head up to ask Kenji a question when she suddenly felt a nagging feeling as she caught sight of his facial features that seemed a bit familiar to her… Studying the ninja's dark blue hair and looking into the depths of his eyes, she realized something.

"K-Kenji…?" she whispered in wonder.

Hearing his name being called, he turned to her. "Yeah?" Spotting the picture being held loosely in her hands, he thought, _Oh crap… I completely forgot about that!_

Before Uriko could ask anything, Kenji made a grab for the photograph. Reaching it out of his grasp, she questioned a bit loudly, "Is that _you_??"

"Shhh!" he shushed her quickly, but it was too late; the couple had gotten the attentions of their friends.

"What?" Yugo asked. "Is Kenji who?"

"This **is** you, isn't it!" the Kenpo student persisted to her fiancé, ignoring the boxer.

_Man, why does she have to be so perceptive… and smart…_ Letting out a low growl, Kenji glared sideways at her in silent response. Her eyes widening in the realization, she let the picture fall from her hands. Before it hit the ground, the ninja snatched it from the air and clutched it protectively to him.

Their companions had witnessed the entire scene; Alice questioned, "Hey, hey, hey! What's going on?"

"Nothing." The mole zoanthrope said.

"Kenji…" Uriko looked meaningfully at him. Lowing her voice to a barely audible whisper, she asked him, "Is Bryan Takiyo really you? Tell me please…"

Turning his face to look at her, he replied very softly with sincere intensity, "I admire your intelligence…"

Uriko gasped. "…I, I'm… right??"

"Hey, what's that?" Yugo interrupted, pointing at the photograph.

"W-what, this?" Kenji looked down at the picture. "Um…"

"Tell them…" his fiancée whispered encouragingly, gently placing her hand on his arm.

Sighing heavily, the blue-haired ninja looked up into the questioning faces of his companions. "T-there's something you all need to, to know…"

"Kenji… what's wrong?" his older brother asked, concern in his voice.

"Um… you know… about Adam Takiyo?" Kenji started.

Across the room, unknown to the others except Jane, Long cringed slightly at the name. Glancing down briefly at him, his girlfriend said, "Yeah… what about Adam Takiyo?"

"He's… he's…" the teenage boy trailed off, but then his voice grew stronger as he confessed, "Adam Takiyo is… was… my father."

"What?!" Alice blurted out.

It was Long's exact reaction. _Adam is his what?!_

Immediately, he felt a warm hand curl around his; weakly looking up, he saw that it was Jane.

"H-he's my father," Kenji repeated as he linked arms with the cat zoanthrope sitting next to him.

_This has to be a dream… no, a complete, utter nightmare…_ the Kenpo master thought to himself.

"Wait… then that means you're…" Yugo trailed off.

"…Bryan Takiyo." The ninja finished for his brother.

****

End of Chapter 10


	11. A Private Interlude

****

Bloody Roar III: Reunited by Chance, a Reflection of the Past

By Tiger5913

Chapter 11

A Private Interlude

__

Now it is out, and everyone knows.

Their reactions are of surprise,

And one is of utter horror as 

He realizes the one he had killed

Is related to one of his friends.

_I still can't believe this…_ Uriko thought to herself.

"Kenji… er, I mean, Bryan… um…" she frowned, feeling a bit unsure; the ninja looked a bit uneasy himself.

"......" was his response.

"Uh… I think that maybe we should discuss the name issue a little later…" Alice suggested quietly.

"This is a lot to absorb," Mitsuko said. "Perhaps we should sleep on it, if anyone else thinks so…"

"Let's continue this tomorrow," the Kenpo master immediately agreed. Following right after him was Jane; "Yeah, we should take this slowly… one at a time."

Getting out of their stunned states, the others slowly stood up. Directing her question at Mitsuko, Jenny asked, "Should we all come back tomorrow night?"

Looking at the young ninja, the boar zoanthrope replied, "If it's all right with him…"

_'Him'… Now they don't even know what to call me anymore…_ he thought. "Sure, whenever…"

Nodding crisply in agreement, the older couple bid their farewells and left the Nonomuras' house.

"See you all later," Jane said, leading her beau to the door.

"Good night Jane, Master!" Uriko called to them as they stepped outside.

"Um, come on, we should go too…" Yugo said quietly, looking somewhat awkward as he nodded at Alice and his younger brother.

"Mrs. Nonomura, if it wouldn't be a bother, may I please stay here tonight in the guestroom?" the ninja asked.

_Hehe… just like old times…_ his fiancée thought giddily, but then her lips turned upwards in a sad expression. _Old times… a couple years ago… how much has changed since then…_

The young boxer looked a bit confused, but he decided not to question the request.

Mitsuko smiled warmly. "You're always welcome here."

He nodded. "Thank you."

"Uh… I guess we'll see you tomorrow then," Yugo said after silence had fell in the room.

"Have a good night," Alice smiled faintly at the three as she and her boyfriend went out the door and shut it behind them.

"I'm going up to my room and read," Mitsuko announced. "Feel free to do what you want. If the two of you decide to go out, just try to come in by midnight, alright?"

"Okay, Mother," Uriko said with a wide smile; she waved to her mother as the tall woman disappeared up the stairs. Turning to her fiancé, the Kenpo student told him, "Wait right here for a moment…"

"Why?"

"Just trust me," she assured. "I just need to go to my room for something… I'll be back down soon…"

Without waiting for his reply, the young woman darted up the stairs and ran into her room. Grabbing her black gym bag, she took a few items out from her drawer, and placed them inside. Zipping it closed, she ran back down to the living room; grabbing a hold of his arm, Uriko pulled the protesting ninja out the door, a destination in her mind.

*****

"Uriko, what are we doing here?"

The cat zoanthrope merely smiled while she led him through the thick forestry of the park; her eyes glowed, aiding her sight in the dark lighting of the evening. Upon approaching two large leaves hiding a path, her smile grew wider and she went on ahead. Behind her, the male teenager ducked as thin tree branches whizzed by his head, briefly entangling themselves in his dark blue hair.

Slowing down to a stop, Uriko slung the bag onto her shoulder and pushed aside the leaves that were blocking their way with her free hand. She took a couple of timid steps into the new area, then turned her head slightly around and told him, "Here we are…" Peering over her shoulder, the mole zoanthrope scanned his surroundings and his eyes widened at the sight.

Although he couldn't see very well in the dark, there was no mistaking the water that was glistening in the small pond before him. Dozens of tall green trees wrapped around the pond, secluding the entire area. Short stems of grass sprouted from the mud of the earth underneath while very few patches of dirt could be seen. Red roses grew from a large bush that was nearby to the tallest tree, which resided nearby the pond, possibly receiving the richest nutrition of the plants.

"This place is beautiful…" the blue-haired ninja commented softly.

Nodding, Uriko said, "Yeah…I found this place not too long ago… I come here now instead of my spot a couple years ago…"

"Oh really?"

"Mmmhmm…"

Without saying anymore, the Kenpo student pulled him toward the tree and rosebush that were near the pond. Sitting down and resting her back against the trunk, she adjusted her black denim and leather outfit, the same attire she was clothed in when dining with Matt earlier. After she was done with that, Uriko motioned for him to join her. Shrugging nonchalantly, he obeyed and proceeded to her. Silence filled the air for a while before she asked quietly, "Are you okay…?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," her companion answered. "What about you?"

"I… am a little shocked - well, surprised really," she admitted. "But I'll be alright."

"Um… do you feel any… differently toward me, us?" the ninja questioned, nodding toward the ring on her finger.

"I'm not going to call off the engagement." The young woman told him. "And I don't care what the papers say…" she turned to look him in the eye. "You'll always be Kenji to me…"

Smiling weakly, Kenji said, "Thanks…" He got a far-off in his eyes. "You know what…? I can still remember that time when we were being forced to fight each other at Tylon… back when we were about eight… We made that promise to escape together… and you started calling me Kenji from that day foreword… You told me to never let anyone call me Bakuryu because I didn't like it, that name being something Busuzima gave to me."

She smiled also and gently took a hold of his hand. "I was so… energetic as a child… and you were usually solemn and quiet… We were as different as night and day, yet we become best friends and stayed that way the whole time we were together at that corporation… Then Mother and Alice rescued me from Tylon when I was nine."

"I remember watching you fight a bunch of people in your woman form and that strange red beast - no offense," he added quickly. "They were kind of scared of your beast forms: Yugo, Alice, Long, Alan, Bakuryu, and even Fox, who was the one that kidnapped you in the first place. I think that you were special because you had two different forms, and I'm glad you never backstabbed me, or anything of the sort."

The ninja chuckled. "What could a puny mole do? Scratch you with my still-developing mini claws? But you never attacked me in your beast forms…you'd always insist on fighting me as human even when I morphed."

"That's because I cared too much about you to risk the chance of hurting or causing pain to you," Uriko told him softly. "I knew how powerful I was in my beast forms; the strength that I possessed. I didn't want to fight Yugo, Alan, Alice, Master Long, or Mother, but I couldn't fight off Busuzima's mind control.

"He never really forced me to morph when fighting you; guess he wanted me to save my strength for the other battles against renegade zoanthropes. I couldn't help giving into the mind control… what could I do… I was only nine years old… I suppose that I could have morphed and taken them out, but…" she closed her eyes. "I didn't want to kill any of the Tylon staff, despite what they did to me, to everyone…"

"I understand how you felt," Kenji whispered, wrapping his arms around her slim figure and hugging her tightly to him. "You have a kind heart… always caring and looking out for people… putting others before yourself…"

"I-I wasn't like that last year…" Uriko confessed. "Besides Erika, Ryan, Chrysta, and Curt, I never really interacted with my schoolmates… Wallowing too much in depression and self-pity, I suppose…"

"I apologize for… for indirectly causing you to act like that," her fiancé said hoarsely. "You know that I didn't intend to leave for more than a couple of weeks or so… I wouldn't want to be away from home for long."

Turning her face so that her nose touched the cotton fabric of his dark blue shirt, she nodded and replied, "I know…"

Resting a palm on her long, braided brown hair, the young ninja laid his head atop hers and whispered, his words trailing into the wind, "Riko… I love you…"

Instead of answering, she looked up into his eyes and he could see small fires of innocent passion in her light brown pupils. Wordlessly, the blue-haired teenager leaned down toward her and their lips met softly. Folding her arms around his neck, Uriko focused putting her weight on her back as they both slowly descended to the ground.

Deepening the kiss, Kenji held her more tightly as he let his mouth open slightly and he gently contacted her lips with his tongue, trying not to probe her. Allowing him in, the brown-haired girl shyly touched his tongue with her own, fighting back the sigh of contentment that was rising in her throat.

The couple slid down lower, until Uriko's back connected with the soft green grass on the ground. A yellow daisy's petal flicked at the white cotton fabric covering her shoulder but she was oblivious to that. The heat of that summer night surrounded the area, making itself very noticeable by causing a few sweat beads to form on Kenji's forehead - or was that from the heat in his own body?

Pulling away from her temporarily, he arose and murmured his complaint, "It's hot…" Looking at his fiancée, he said to her firmly, "I'm not trying to be provocative or anything, but can I… is it alright if…?"

"Go ahead, it's up to you," Uriko replied, knowing what he was trying to ask her.

Smiling faintly at her, he tucked in his arms and closed his eyes as he slipped the shirt up and over his head. Grabbing a hold of one end, the ninja waved it at his face, fanning himself. Looking down at the young woman, he waved his shirt in her direction, grinning as he fanned her as well.

Giggling, Uriko protested lightheartedly, "Hey… I'm cold enough, I'm cold enough!" Smiling teasingly at him, she kidded, "Kenji, your specialty is fire but you can't even stand the heat, hmm?"

"Oh, you're cold, huh?" He asked, then growled playfully. "I can change that…"

She laughed softly, and then let out a delighted squeal as Kenji placed his shirt on the ground and descended toward her; she managed to smile briefly before their lips met again. Relaxing, Uriko timidly slipped her arms around him, linking her hands together behind his back. Her fingers grazed against his hard muscles and her breath caught. Gently kneading her hands into them, the young woman slowly journeyed across his back, finally resting up on the base of his neck.

A soft groan emitted from the male zoanthrope's throat as she began massaging him. Subconsciously, one of his hands traveled downwards and paused after a little bit, the bottom of his palm resting on her breast. As soon as he realized his position, the ninja immediately yanked back his hand and broke apart from her. Both of them breathing heavily, he cast his eyes to the ground as he whispered, "S-sorry about that…"

Slowing down her breathing, the Kenpo student replied, "It's okay… I, I don't really mind… i-it feels fine…"

"R-Really?" he asked.

She nodded her reply and smiled shakily at him.

"You… you look very… beautiful right now," Kenji said a bit tentatively.

"T-thanks…" Uriko replied just as shyly. "I've always thought you were so handsome… You had really cute, boyish features in ninth grade… a lot of girls in our Biology class liked you. Those features have matured now, of course…"

"I remembering overhearing a lot of guys sitting in the back of the room wanting to ask you out," the blue-haired teenager informed her. "I felt weird about hearing that, but I didn't know why at the time. Now, I'm pretty sure it was because I was jealous…"

"You were kind of cold when we got assigned to be partners for that phobia project," she recalled.

"That's because a couple of guys sitting around me begged to trade so that they could get you for their partner," he said. "I got annoyed and couldn't help feeling irritated at the way they were so attentive to you."

"I never knew that," his companion remarked, looking surprise. "After all, the only times we'd crossed paths were the few times that I bummed a ride off of you. Heehee, and I did that because I wanted to hang around you, but didn't know how to ask that without implying that I wanted your friendship as well."

The ninja rolled his eyes in exasperation - but not at her. "I was a jerk at fourteen, wasn't I?"

"Not really, Kenji," she disagreed. "I think it was just hard for you to trust other people after what Busuzima did to you. I mean, you'd already trusted Yugo, but he had taken care of you for five years, so you knew him pretty well."

"But I knew you too…"

Uriko gave him a small smile. "I don't think you remembered that until the night we fought in the alleyway - for the third time."

"Hrmp… damn mind control…" Kenji grumbled. "I hope I was out of character in that battle, then you'd have known it wasn't really me controlling my actions."

"I had a hunch when you pulled a knife out," she replied dryly. Lying back onto the ground with both of her hands behind her head, she continued, "And among other 'hints'… But… you know what? That's all in the past. We should concentrate on the present time."

Lying down next to her, he propped himself on his elbow and stroked her cheek with the back of his hand. "You're right… forget all the stupid things I did," he grinned. "There's still more to come anyway."

"Don't worry, we'll go through them together…" 

The young woman placed one of her hands behind the base of his neck and pulled him down towards her. Willingly obliging, the young ninja closed his eyes and kissed her, while wrapping his arms around her body. Running her fingers through his dark blue hair, she crept closer, her eyes shut as well while she reveled in his warmth. Softly stroking his bangs, Uriko smiled inwardly as a sharp tingle of desire shot down her spine and continued travelling lower.

Breaking their embrace temporarily, she shrugged her black denim vest off before going back to Kenji. As they resumed their activity, she felt his hand slide down with slow, gentle deliberation. Her breath caught for a second when felt him stop lightly on her breast; he murmured timidly against her mouth, "I-is this alright…?"

The cat zoanthrope nodded shyly and he let out a small sigh of relief. Opening her eyes, she placed her fingertips on his cheek, softly grazing against his eyebrows and the tip of his nose. A groan for her delicate touch threatened to escape from his throat and the blue-haired teenager tried to brush it off. Instead, he started to move his fingers gently, caressing the small part of her that was underneath his hand; he could feel her heart pounding more quickly.

Uriko couldn't help but let a soft moan escape her lips and vanish up into the air. Her hand left his face and went around to his back while the other hand joined as well. Gripping the ninja's shoulder blades, she tilted her head toward the sky while she sighed in rapture. Although not really sure why, she suddenly had a strange urge to feel the chilly air on the bare skin of her upper body.

At that moment, a jolt of surprise shot through her as the young woman felt something warm and damp close gently around her nipple, moistening her buttoned-up shirt. Letting out another soft moan, she grasped a few handfuls of Kenji's hair, pushing his mouth further down upon her breast without realizing it and shifted a bit restlessly. Tasting her through the soft, white cotton fabric, the ninja groaned also, trying to resist what his instincts were telling him to do.

"Kenji…" his fiancée murmured quietly.

She rested her hands on the back of his neck, unknowingly pressing his head closer, tightening the intimacy. All of a sudden feeling hard pressure nudging against her thigh, through the thin black leather of her pants, she stopped with a bit of reluctance and sat up with effort. Trying to calm his body down, Kenji followed her suit and got into a sitting position as well.

"That…" she began, breathing a little heavily. "That was great…"

"I… I'm sorry about my… well, um, you know…" the young ninja trailed off.

Knowing what he was trying to say, Uriko gave him a small, shaky smile and replied, "You, um, don't have to feel embarrassed about… that… or anything…"

"Were we, er, going… too fast?" he questioned, his cheeks looking a bit flushed.

She shook her head slowly. "It felt wonderful… don't worry, we can do this, just as long as we don't go too far too soon…"

"Well, the 'too far' part shouldn't be pondered over; I… am kind of inexperienced," he said. "But I want you to know that I loved our… experiment. Then again…" the ninja looked sheepish. "You… probably felt that-er, I mean!-already knew that."

Uriko grinned teasingly as she whispered shyly, "Knew it… _and_ felt it…" 

Kenji blushed harder; laughing softly, she picked up his shirt and handed it to him. "Hehe… you might need this…"

"Uh, thanks…" he replied, taking the article of clothing and slipping it over his head, then straightened his elbows out of the armholes.

Leaning her back against the tree behind, the Kenpo student sighed approvingly and closed her eyes. Looking down at the small wet stain on her shirt, she giggled a bit giddily as she commented, "Our mouths have a lot of skills besides talking…"

"Yeah…I, I guess…" her companion delicately touched his lips with a finger. "I got your shirt wet… sorry."

Hugging him tightly, the brown-haired girl replied, "Don't worry… it, it was for… I guess you could say… a good cause…"

"H-have you ever done this before?" Kenji felt a twinge of jealousy even as he asked that.

She shook her head into his dark blue shirt and he let out a sigh of relief. Chuckling in amusement, Uriko looked up and questioned, "Why, are you jealous?"

"If you had… yeah, I would be… kinda, sort of jealous," he admitted. _In other words, I'd probably go break their arm…_

The female teenager shook her head again. "You're the first…"

"…And vice versa," the ninja told her.

Smiling, she opened her mouth to say something when suddenly, she felt a cold breeze swept through the area. Starting to get a strange feeling, the cat zoanthrope stood up and glanced around. Looking at her questioningly, Kenji arose while asking, "What's wrong?"

"Hmm… so the sex-toy speaks…" An ever-familiar low murmur came from nearby, the words slicing by in the air, cutting through the ninja's passion-dazed state.

"X-Xion…" he whispered, recognizing the voice.

****

End of Chapter 11


	12. It All Comes Down To This

****

Bloody Roar III: Reunited by Chance, a Reflection of the Past

By Tiger5913

Chapter 12

It All Comes Down To This

__

The enemy makes his appearance

His silent challenge hovers before them,

Trifling weightlessly in the air

When the smoke finally clears

Which of the fighters will prevail?

_Not him again!_ Uriko growled irritably as she quickly reached for her bag and unzipped it. Digging her hand inside, she pulled out her sheathed katana and a box containing some small, deadly shurikens for her companion, then tossed the bag back to the tree trunk.

"I had a feeling we'd be needing these…" she muttered quietly, rearing her arm back and positioning herself with the slender sword. _Wish I had my nunchucks for back up, though…_

Next to her, Kenji opened the box and slid a few of the shurikens between his fingers, hiding them from view. Getting into his battle ready position as well, he glared acidly at the silver haired man and questioned, "What do you want, Xion?"

Levitating before them wearing the same attire as before, his lips curled up into a sneer as he looked at Uriko with his blazing red eyes. "The girl. She seems to be somewhat of a formidable opponent."

"Yeah right, you think I'd ever go with _you_?" A frown spread over her eyebrows.

He smiled, a sinister essence lurking on his lips. "Did I ever say that you were given a choice…?" While the couple shot dirty looks at him in unison, he continued, "Oh, and do not bother me with petty toys…"

With a few hand gestures of his, the katana and shurikens flew out of the teenagers' hands and into some bushes nearby.

"Hey!!" Uriko protested angrily. _All right, he wants a fight? We'll give him a fight!_

Her gaze focused on Xion; she darted foreword and leapt into the air, bringing her legs up. As he 'sidestepped' her attack, the Kenpo student landed on the ground, hopping a few steps back as she did. Charging at him again, she slid down and struck at his ankles with the heel of her sneakers, causing the steel-haired villain to stumble a little.

With him slightly distracted, Kenji ran up from behind and slipped his hands under his opponent's armpits, then locked his arms up, trapping the foe. Jumping high into the air, the ninja flipped him upside down while staying upright himself, and grabbed a hold of Xion's booted feet. The two of them plummeted back to the ground, and the blue-haired teenager roughly slammed his opponent's head against the hard-packed dirt floor.

_Teehee, we ought to do tag team more often…_ his fiancée thought silently to herself.

Feeling more energized; she proceeded toward the silver-haired man and kicked at his face-level. After the fourth strike, the young woman spread her arms out and jumped up a little to hit the top of his head with her fist. The force of her blow was hard enough to make him bend down slightly; taking that to her advantage, Uriko struck his head twelve more times before socking especially hard and knocking him face-down to the ground.

Fuming, Xion arose and escaped to his safer residence in the air. Raising his hand at the couple, he closed his eyes and an invisible force shot at them. Kenji slightly jerked back as it hit him directly in his abdomen, and stumbled weakly to his knees.

"Ugh…" Uriko winced, a shaky hand going to clutch the area around her stomach.

Before the couple could recover, their foe pointed his fingers toward the sky, and the two of them started to float up. As he swiftly waved his hand to one side, their bodies were turned toward the same direction, and they breezed through the air. Even the wind cringed when each of them flew right into the thick trunk of a nearby tree and fell to the floor soon after contact.

"That's got to be magic…" the ninja managed to stammer as he was staggering to get up. _Or… psychic powers…_

Getting to a standing position, the Kenpo student squeezed her eyes shut and concentrated while bending her knees. Pulling one arm back, she focused deeply and a swirl of blue mist quickly surrounded her hand. Opening her eyes, she pushed her hand foreword as a thick beam of chilling ice shot out from the palm, rushing toward Xion. Spotting her tech, his eyes widened in slight surprise as he barely dodged it, a small essence of the ice managing to graze against his cheek.

A bit taken back but feeling angry at her, the silver-haired man turned his attention to her, his feet levitating several inches above the ground as he went toward the young woman. Taking that to his advantage, Kenji closed his eyes as he held up two fingers in front of his face. Waving them around for a couple of seconds, he reopened his eyes and pointed at Xion as a line of fire came from his fingertips. Blazing through the air, the flames darted at the villain and singed the back of his maroon-colored coat, burning through the tough material.

As soon as he felt what had happened, Xion immediately turned and gave the ninja a cold glare. A small twinge of fear pinched at Kenji's nerves as he took a timid step back, but then a determined look slowly came over his face and he stood his ground. Bending his knees and keeping his feet spread apart, he arced a hand up near his face and the other one poised stiffly behind his head.

"Useless struggling." Xion sneered arrogantly.

"S-Shut up," the blue-haired teenager hissed in reply.

A sudden swish was heard as shoes squished on the crisp green grass and a figure jumped, flying over the head of the steel-haired foe. Landing swiftly nearby her fiancé, Uriko took her stance beside him, readying herself for battle as she held out one fist before her body.

"At least he's not alone," she said, quickly glancing over at Kenji.

"What are you two, Siamese twins?" Their opponent snorted.

"Yeah, we are," the ninja replied in a smart-aleck tone of voice. "You got a problem with that?"

"I don't like to be pestered by little insects," Xion remarked, holding up hand and shoving the other male fighter away with the same invisible force as before. "I am just here for the girl."

She narrowed her eyes. "Oh yeah? Well, guess what? I'm not going with you!"

Shutting her eyelids, the young woman whirled her outstretched arms around as a bright light flashed from her body. When it dimmed down, she revealed herself in beast form, sharp feline claws poised to attack on command. Uriko exposed her pointy white teeth as she opened her mouth and hissed at the villain. Large, sensitive ears poked out from the midst of her auburn-colored hair, focusing on the various little noises in the area. Meanwhile, the blue headed ninja leapt over Xion's head, landing behind him. 

Following the Kenpo student's example, he reared an arm back and slowly brought it foreword in a strong uppercut, preparing to morph like she had. As he knocked his opponent into the air, Kenji felt his shirt burst open and the broken pieces of fabric fell silently to the floor while mahogany fur sprouted from his body from the smooth transaction of his morphing. His light brown eyes were replaced by a shade of dark blood red and the familiar beak of a mole elongated from his mouth. Very shortly after that, the long vicious claws grew out of the base of each wrist and his fingers clenched together instinctively.

His transformation complete, the mole zoanthrope followed his tech by jumping up into the air after Xion. Clutching the foe closely to him, the two spun around in circles while descending quickly toward the ground. Crashing to the floor, Kenji hopped up onto his feet and clasped his hands together respectfully while his victim stayed grounded temporarily. Nearby, his fiancée let out a silent cheer in her mind.

Flipping up into a standing position, Xion levitated before the ninja. The look on his face appeared a bit strained, but it quickly flashed away when he thrust both of his hands foreword and the mole arose from the ground. Yet as he was floating up, Kenji could tell that the effort was a bit more faint than the last time he and Uriko had gone airborne and had been flung into the tree. Noting that small weakness, he struggled against the hold, although to no avail. He slashed at the air with his long claws, while his large green eyes reflected his irritability.

With Xion concentrating on the blue-haired teenager, Uriko sprinted at him, jumping into the air and kicking him in the back. Falling to the floor, his solid concentration was broken and the invisible hold that was on Kenji disappeared. Descending toward the ground, he managed to retract in the air and back-flipped, landing on his feet. Flashing the young woman a grateful look, he hastily darted to her side.

The ninja tried to explain Xion's weakness with gestures, since he couldn't speak verbally in beast form. The female cat nodded, understanding, while her wide crimson eyes glanced briefly into his dark green pupils. Looking at each other, the two of them nodded in unison, silently agreeing to something. A few feet away, their foe was on his feet, glaring questioningly at them.

Going first, the young mole zoanthrope dashed at the steel-haired villain and leapt over his head. Providing a distraction, Uriko mewed as she crouched down into a typical cat's sitting position, and scratched at Xion's ankles. Just as he was going down to strike her, sneering at her meek attack, Kenji rushed at him and jabbed one clawed hand straight into Xion's abdomen.

He yanked out his hand swiftly, while blood spilled out onto the ground and stained the tips of his claws. Surprised expressions came over the couple's face as their opponent grimaced, then held a hand over his stomach. A blue aura surrounded his body and when it faded away, the wound was halfway healed.

__

Oh man… the Kenpo student thought in slight amazement.

__

We both have to do our Rage Moves before he heals himself completely… her partner turned to look at her and angled his head in silent question. As soon as she nodded, he poised himself to perform his tech.

_Double Inferno,_ he commanded silently. Raising one arm, Kenji held it before his face and slashed by Xion, leaving a trail of fire burning on the grass. Turning around to face his opponent, he clasped his hands together and surrounded the silver-haired man as fire escaped from the palms, engulfing him in hot flames. Two faint images of the ninja appeared briefly, and sliced Xion together, reforming into one as Kenji went back to his human form.

_Guess it's my turn,_ Uriko thought, waiting for the foe to stand up.

As she was about to execute her own Beast Drive, she was stopped abruptly when spotting Xion get up, just seeming a little bruised, and starting to corner her fiancé. Growling, she put her tech on hold and pranced toward the two men. When she leapt into the air, trying to tackle him from behind, the evil villain raised one hand up. 

Hitting an un-seeable wall, the feline was blocked and she fell to the floor, her head coming in contact with the roots of a tree. Shaking her head dazedly, Uriko blinked, trying to focus her eyes. By the time she could see clearly, it was too late to protect herself from the group of rocks that had floated through the air and plummeted down upon her.

"No!! Uriko, watch out!!" Kenji yelled out.

She raised her hands over herself in protection; one of the larger boulders fell past her barrier and struck the side of her head. Feeling a little dizzy, the Kenpo student wavered, leaving her open and vulnerable to the next two rocks that slammed into her forearms. Getting injured from them, she shrunk down near the ground as the last few rocks approached her.

Seeing what had happened, the ninja started to run toward her but was blocked when Xion stood in front of him, placing the invisible hold on the mole zoanthrope again. His arms suspending in the air, Kenji gritted his teeth and struggled, but he was a little weaker now that he was back in human form and stayed imprisoned.

"Let-me-go, damn it!!" he shrieked, frustrated at his futile attempts.

Underneath the rubble, Uriko heard his distressed cry and thought faintly, _I've got to get up… have to go help Kenji…_

She pushed meekly at the boulders trapping her, but could barely get a couple of them off her. _Ugh, I'm so tired… this'll take forever… Kenji can't wait forever…_

_Morph again._ A part of her mind stated matter-of-factly.

A smile subconsciously made its way to her lips. _Yeah, morph again…_ Suddenly, her large red eyes widened in confusion. _W-wait, what…?!_

_Morph again!_ Came the booming voice.

_I-I can't do that!_ She shot back silently. _I'm already in beast form!_

_Morph again!_ Was the only reply she got. Frowning, the brown-haired girl succumbed and closed her eyes, searching inside for implications of a second morph.

All of a sudden, she found it; a mental picture of the form flashed up in her mind and she gasped inwardly.

_T-that form again… _Uriko shook her head rapidly, refusing the beast form.

_Just do it,_ a part inside of her urged. _For Kenji!_

Swallowing nervously, she nodded slowly; shutting her eyes, she began to concentrate on transforming.

Several feet away, the blue-haired ninja spat at Xion's face, landing a hit on the side of his right cheek. Angered by his defiance, the foe stepped foreword and raised Kenji higher into the air, off the ground level. As he was about to be flung to one side, a sudden bright flash of light interrupted Xion's task and the mole zoanthrope wavered slightly.

Both of the men turned around to find out what had caused the soundly distraction. Electricity fizzled in the air, emitting from a slender person that was standing in the middle of the rubble. The flash of light had been supported by a vibrant wave that threw the rocks off the young woman. Floating a few inches up from the floor, the figure levitated foreword into view as the dust slowly began to clear.

When the hazy brown clouds faded, the two fighters saw a tall woman wearing dark pink boots. Her short neon green hair formed two shapes on the top of her head, the stylish shapes resembling large cat ears. Covered by magenta-colored leggings with pink arm sleeves to match and a white top, the gaze of her glowing, forest green eyes settled coolly on the men. 

Kenji shivered slightly at the sight, but then thought, _wait a minute… I-I feel like I should recognize that person…_

*****

_"No!! I don't wanna!" A young girl screamed her refusal._

_"Do it, you little brat!" The harsh voice demanded her obedience. "Or else we'll… 'Mess around' with your little sparring partner!"_

_Her small brown eyes widened in fear at the sight of another male child being dragged roughly into the room. Two people in lab coats each clutched one of the boy's arms and the person that had been ordering her went over to the other kid. Standing right next to him, the cruel villain grabbed a hold of the boy's stringy black hair and yanked hard enough so that his face was brought up to look at the girl. _

He let out a small cry of pain, but held in the rest and shouted to her, "Don't listen to 'em, Riko!"

_"Shut up, you ninja numbskull!!" The boy received a hard slap to his face and early signs of tears were welling up in his eyes._

_"Kenji!!" His female companion cried out._

_"Quit calling him that, you ingrate!" Their vile punisher scolded loudly. "His name is Bakuryu!"_

_"No, it's not!!" The eight-year-old boy yelled. His protest earned a powerful blow to his small back from a heavy board, and it was delivered by one of the people that were holding death-grips on him._

_"No!! Stop hurting him!!" She started to run foreword to rescue him._

_"You want us to stop? Then morph!!"_

_Little drops of angry tears began to trickle down her face, but she reluctantly obeyed. Closing her eyes, she concentrated on transforming, while the others watched her. Within the next few seconds, she began to morph, and when it was completed, the older viewers laughed in triumph. The two lab technicians let go of the boy and carelessly pushed him toward the girl, who was now in her first beast form of a grown woman._

_"R-R-Riko…?" the young male zoanthrope questioned bewilderedly, his trembling voice barely audible._

_"Kenji…" her voice was now deeper, and more mature-sounding than her younger, childish version._

_He took a small timid step toward her and stopped, looking at her with fearful light brown eyes. "I-i-is that you…?"_

_Scanning over herself, her now-green eyes widened at her new features… the magenta and white outfit… the larger distance from the ground… her chest and longer arms… Shocked by the appearance, the young girl shook her head rapidly in denial and instantly changed back into her normal self. The minute she was in her eight-year-old form again, the boy ran foreword and gave her a tight but slightly awkward hug. The white material of their full-bodied outfits clashed when he threw his arms around her slim, shivering body._

_"Oh, no, we're not finished yet!" The annoying voice commanded. "Get back in that beast form; you still have another one after that!"_

The two of them were forcefully pulled apart and the boy was dragged away from her as the attention focused on the girl, and making her turn back into the tall woman.

*****

"Uriko…" the ninja whispered, realizing with a chill who that woman was.

****

End of Chapter 12


	13. A Remembered Figment Returns

****

Bloody Roar III: Reunited by Chance, a Reflection of the Past

By Tiger5913

Chapter 13

A Remembered Figment Returns

__

An old memory is back,

In the form of a familiar woman.

The innocent self is still inside

But is she in control, or 

Has the powerful fighter taken charge?

Unresponsive, the Kenpo student stood hovering over the ground, eyes fixated on Kenji, studying him silently. He shivered upon spotting the cold glint in her gaze, but stared back and called out a bit uncertainly, "Uriko…? Uriko!!"

The glint slowly faded away from her green pupils at the sound of her name and she shook her head dazedly, shutting her eyes while doing so.

_Uriko…_ she thought, a bit confusedly. _Uriko… me… that's me…_

"K-Kenji?" the Kenpo student whispered.

"That's right…it's me," he answered.

Tilting her head in curiosity, Uriko regarded him silently, her aquatic green eyes searching his face, as if noting his looks. Then, the familiar sense of recklessness overtook her and she wrinkled her nose, focusing on the reason why she had morphed a second time: Xion. She caught the surprised expression on his face, and smiled smugly, the grown woman inside her mind gloating triumphantly. But of what… she wasn't sure.

Her narrowed eyes settling on his red outfitted figure, she levitated over to the two men. Stopping a few inches away, the female zoanthrope swiftly swung her leg over and her heel struck against Xion's invisible hold on the young ninja. With a start, Kenji fell to the floor, but quickly scrambled up to his feet again and took a step back. A hint of fear was in his light brown eyes as he glanced over at his fiancée, wondering if she had control of herself.

"You…" she started to say, directing her comment to Xion. "You hurt my friends… my loved ones…" Her voice cracked a little as anger and resentment crept up to the surface. "How… dare you…"

"Puny little child," was his cool, hypnotic reply. "You think you can beat me with that form? Pathetic." He practically spat the word at her.

A fiery flame of anger flared to life in her eyes, seeming like real inferno with the background of her large green pupils. "Pathetic?" Uriko crossed her arms over her chest. "I will show you pathetic."

Lunging at her opponent, she grabbed a hold of his waist and leapt high into the air. Stopping about fifty feet later, she closed her eyelids as electricity surged through her arms, traveling over to Xion's body and shocking him. After she transmitted the lightning, the Kenpo student threw him back to the ground and flew down after him. Landing on his ribs, she purposely crushed them and then casually stepped off of his abdominal area.

Casting glowering red eyes at her, the steel-haired foe arose and pushed both palms at her, using his psychic abilities to force her slim figure to slam into a pine tree nearby. Barely fazed by the attack, the agile female shut her eyes as a chilly blue aura surrounded her body. Spreading her arms out and rising several more inches above ground, a vicious looking icicle quickly formed in front of her face. The jagged object pointed directly at her opponent; the moment she opened her eyes, it shot foreword with un-seeable speed, penetrating one of Xion's arms.

He let a pained groan escape his lips, but nothing more than that. Using weakened effort, a warm sensation came over his wound, and the icicle melted away from his arm. Watching what had happened emotionlessly, Uriko stood floating a few inches from the floor, looking at him coolly. All of a sudden, her head jerked to look to her right and settled upon the blue-haired mole zoanthrope.

Catching her gaze, he stared back at her, displaying a silent message, _"Thank you."_ She smiled crisply in response, then turned her attention to Xion again.

_It's time to finish this._ She decided coolly. _But, how do I…?_

_Rage Move…_ the voice guided her.

_I… have one in this form…?_

_Of course… look inside yourself…_

A sudden gust of cyan-colored energy blasted out of her palms, but Xion swiftly dodged the attack, smirking at her.

_Try again…_ was the firm urge.

She did, but he twisted aside from the icy blast at the last second.

_Damn it,_ Uriko thought, feeling frustrated. _How many chances do I get at this stupid thing, anyway? It was always one shot in my first transformation…_

_This isn't your first form._ The voice informed her matter-of-factly. _Don't question it; just follow your instincts._

Seeing her contradiction, Kenji looked at Xion and frowned at him. Taking in a shaky breath, he gritted his teeth and charged foreword. Approaching the silver-haired man, he snatched his arms and twisted them around his back. Locking together his hands, the ninja stood his ground while the villain struggled against the entrapment.

"Uriko, now!" He managed to yell out to her, trying to hold down his squirming victim. Seeing her fiancé attached to Xion, she shook her head wildly, refusing his request.

"I'll get out of the way!" He promised, beginning to lose his hold. "Now hurry!!"

Nodding uncertainly, Uriko let the blue beam of energy shoot out of her palms, this time, hitting the target. Kenji released his grip on the foe and threw down a smoke bomb to escape, but Xion managed to imprison one of his legs. Slowing dragging him into the icy tech, the ninja cried out in surprise, but regained his posture and delivered a forceful kick to his opponent's shins.

The mole zoanthrope was relieved and he rolled away to safety. Her aquatic green eyes glowing with heightened energy, the young woman smiled evenly at the sight of Xion frozen in her light blue icicle entrapment.

_Triple Solidify Strike. _ The words subconsciously embroided themselves into her mind. Before she had time to ponder the meaning, strong instincts took over her body.

Uriko raised her arms over her head, making the icy prison float up above her slender form with the wind's assistance. Gently shutting her eyes, her summon of a vicious blizzard initiated, focusing solely on Xion. The prison broke, freeing him, but then the barrier that he saw as an imprisonment left him vulnerable to the icicle javelins that had materialized and were pummeling him repetitively, striking multiple parts of his body with their pointed ends.

But it wasn't over yet. The green-haired woman kept her eyes closed, frowning as she concentrated deeply. It proved successful, and two enormous ice structures formed high in the air, rotating around Xion and the aggressive javelins. One last icicle connected with his back, chilling his spine, and the large glaciers took into their place. With him still floating in the air, they sped directly at him, meeting in the center with a loud, powerful smash.

As soon as the structures dissolved upon crashing into their victim, Uriko readied herself to finish the tech. With her arm poised stiffly in front of her face, she flew straight up, harshly slicing through his figure from beneath as she floated back down, in her normal figure. Loose strands of her otherwise long, braided auburn-colored hair danced with the windy breeze as her feet came in contact with the sturdy dirt floor. 

The silver-haired man fell to the ground shortly after she'd finished her new Beast Drive. Directing her focus elsewhere, she darted over to the young ninja's side, looking him over for serious injuries. He shook his head, indicating that he was fine, but she scanned his cuts and other deeper wounds, biting her lip in concern. Grasping her hand tightly and getting back up, Kenji flashed her a reassuring smile; it disappeared as he suddenly jerked his head toward Xion, who had gotten into a standing position.

_He's still standing?!_ The Kenpo thought a bit frantically. _Damn, what stamina-!_

"You will not get rid of my bloodline that easily," he promised. "There is still another…"

_What does he mean by that?_ Kenji wondered, narrowing his eyes in suspicion.

Without saying any more words, just grinning nefariously at the couple, he raised a hand at the mole zoanthrope. Before they could so much as protest, a ball of blinding orange light emitted from his chest, around the heart area, and lifted up into the air. His actual body then slumped to the floor and began to dissolve, melting away in the midst of the wind. As if the light was biographical, it seemed to broaden, vicious flames forming around the edges. 

The two teenagers stepped back, fear beginning to faintly flicker in their light brown eyes. Without warning, the ball of light appeared to explode into a fiercer source, and then shot straight at the young zoanthropes with lightning fast speed. Not even their vast agility could help them this time; they attempted to push each other out of the way. Proving futile, the flaming ball struck both of the fighters hard, crashing into Uriko's abdomen and Kenji's chest.

While they were being pushed back into a tree behind them, flames from the ball nipped and torched Uriko's flesh, seemingly going right through her clothes and aiming straight for her tender skin. Traveling throughout her entire body, the fire tortured her arms and legs, leaving angry red scars as reminders. They paid no attention to her face, just going for the areas below her neck, setting an immense amount of pain to her figure; she screamed in agony.

A couple of feet away from her, Kenji wasn't getting any better treatment. Although he usually felt some sort of immunity to fire, it being his element specialty, the pain that was going through his body wasn't anything minor. As if chuckling in wicked glee, the flames continued their trail of the different parts of his body, burning each spot left behind. Clenching his teeth, he let out a muffled cry of his own, trying to 'absorb' the fire into him, but failing to prevail.

In addition to that, a rebel part of the fireball levitated freely in the air, and after a split second, decided its target. Speeding toward the trees of the forestry area, the flames got bigger and licked provokingly at the bark, igniting larger versions of its kind. Within a few minutes, the area that had been surrounded by trees exploded in a loud boom, now reflecting red-hot fiery flames onto the small pond.

Moaning in agony, the female zoanthrope winced as her body began to succumb to the pain. Her fiancé groaned his agreement, attempting to crawl over to her but grimaced each time the burns pelted different parts of his being. Some time later, they both faintly heard noises of multiple gasps and footsteps approaching them.

"Oh my goodness!!" Uriko vaguely recalled the voice.

_A…Alice…sister…_ she realized silently in her mind.

"What the hell-!!"

_I-it's Yugo…_ Kenji recognized weakly.

Soft material swiftly came to beat away frantically at Uriko's flames; the same was being done to the blue-haired ninja nearby. They both heard various murmurs and exclamations, but couldn't answer due to their condition. Managing to half-open her eyes, the young woman could faintly see an image of people rushing around to put out the flames in the forest.

_The park…us…we're all saved…_ she thought somewhat deliriously before going unconscious.

****

End of Chapter 13


	14. Back To The Present

****

Bloody Roar III: Reunited by Chance, a Reflection of the Past

By Tiger5913

Chapter 14

Back To The Present

__

The haunting memories leave momentarily.

Watching her lay there unconscious,

Makes him feel fearful inside,

Then a sweet song plays in the room,

Reminding him of a time in their past.

_Uhh…this is still painful…_

Reopening his eyes after the memories had finally began to fade away, the young ninja sat back rather stiffly in the hospital chair. Short raspy breaths came from his mouth, and he willed herself to calm down. Reverting his attention to the bedded figure, the position of his lips froze in a thin line as small tears formed in his eyes, blurring up his vision.

_Uriko…wake up… please, _he begged silently.

Being a slightly faster healer than him, her injuries should have already started to falter and weaken. Two days after the huge confrontation with Xion, his condition was doing quite well and he was rather quickly for such an incident. Kenji had regained consciousness, but his fiancée appeared to have been hurt more severely. Strangely, the burns that'd healed up for him didn't leave any scars, just caused an amount of pain when pressure was applied.

Inconspicuously, he reached over to Uriko and gently tucked her left hand under the white cotton blanket. Her ring didn't even get a scratch; it was unfortunate that she hadn't received the same kind of treatment. Finished with that small task, the male teenager took her other free hand and held it in between his two own. While he was gazing forlornly down at her, he jolted back to reality when a melody began playing out of the small black radio that sat upon the table next to Uriko.

_Stupid music…_ Kenji grumbled irritably and proceeded to turn it off, when all of a sudden the tune grew slow and tedious. His eyes widened as he remembered the time he'd previously heard it…

*****

"Oh, she's out in the backyard. Through the living room, and straight down the hall."

Nodding his thanks, the young teenager went in the direction that the tall brown-haired woman had pointed out, his notebook and writing utensils gripped tightly in his hands. Shaking his long black bangs out of his face, he strode through a cozy room with a couple of couches, a table, and a television. Not paying heed to the other items, he went past all of that and walked through the narrow hallway, approaching double glass doors.

Grabbing a hold of the handle on one of the doors, he proceeded to tug it open, when a sweet, melodious tone reached his ears.

__

"Close your eyes,

Leave the world behind,"

_What the hell is that?_ The male student wondered, stepping outside and closing the door behind him, meeting the warm afternoon rays of sun. 

As the blue sky hung overhead and the cool breeze swirled around his muscular fourteen-year-old body, he brushed off the caress. Narrowing his light brown eyes, he walked foreword, as the song continued playing somewhere up ahead…

__

"Find a place, deep inside…

Where, you imagine

That love never dies…"

_Hrmp, what sap and nonsense…_ He thought to himself.

Turning a corner of the backyard, the dark-haired scholar stopped short upon spotting a figure.

__

"In the night

When you reach for me,

In your heart

Hear my sigh…"

The figure sang along, voice soft and dreamy, accurately reciting the lyrics of the song.

__

"Now, and forever,

Will you remember?"

Still singing while oblivious to his presence, his observation began to perform stretching exercises, pausing every once in a while to throw a few practiced punches into the air.

__

"When you love,

You're not alone,"

_Oh, are you sure about that?_ A small smirk formed over his lips.

__

"The one you love

Is there beside you…"

_I bet that's not always true…_ Although he didn't want to listen to the song any longer and was about to speak up, his companion quickly interrupted by singing the next part with a husky, earnest sense.

__

"Never lost, or on your own

The gentle hand is there to guide you…"

Slightly startled by the passion in the tone of voice, he closed his mouth, deciding not to interrupt yet.

__

"Like the sun, I am shining down

True the veil, toward the clouds…"

_Nice metaphor, I suppose,_ he thought gruffly, scowling at his acceptance of the song.

__

"When you can't see me,

You must believe me…"

The figure shifted to raising a leg and kicked at the air multiple times, the other foot rested upon the ground for stiff support.

__

"That when you love,

You're not alone,"

_Sure, yeah, right…_ he snorted his disagreement. _What kind of crap is this?_ Shaking his head, he slowly took a step foreword.

__

"The one you love

Is there beside you…"

A smile came over the other person's face, and their own set of light brown eyes closed, singing the next verse powerfully, with feeling in the feminine, lighthearted voice.

__

"Never lost, or on your own

A gentle hand is there to guide you…"

While singing, the young female got a bit off-balanced and lost her training posture, letting out a squeal of protest as she started to fall over.

__

"When you love, 

You're not alone,"

Noticing her situation, he darted foreword on instinct and shot out both arms to catch her back before she fell.

__

"The one you love 

Is there beside you."

Startled, she finally acknowledged another person present and straightened herself up, the song still playing from a black boom box sitting on the ground nearby the two.

__

"Never lost, or on your own

A gentle hand is there to guide you…"

"Is that you, Mother? Who's there?!" Immediately on guard, she whirled around, her long braided auburn-colored hair whipping him gently across the face.

__

"Oh when you love, 

You're not alone,"

"Hey, watch it there!" The male teenager yelled out, stepping back and twisting his body away, almost losing his grip on the possessions that were in his hands.

__

"The one you love

Is there beside you…"

"Oh, it's you, Kenji!" She glanced at him, an apologetic look in her wide brown pupils.

__

"Never lost, or on your own

A gentle hand is there to guide you…"

"Who'd you think I was, Adolf Hitler??" Kenji Ohgami scowled at her impatiently, studying her features with slit-thin brown eyes.

"Well, it's not like I have eyes on the back of my head," she countered, her voice in a gentle tone.

__

"When you love, 

You're not alone,"

"I told you I was coming over today, Uriko," he reminded her, sounding a bit irritated.

"I know that, it's just… I wasn't expecting you until later this afternoon…" Uriko Nonomura sighed and tossed her hair over her shoulder as she peered down at the digital clock in her boom box.

__

"The one you love 

Is there beside you."

"It's two o'clock," the black-haired teenager informed her.

"Shhh…" she hushed him gently, eyes brightening up as she sang along with the last lyric lines.

__

"Never lost, or on your own

A gentle hand is there to guide you…"

The song slowly began to die down, the singer moaning her heart-felt emotion as the music ended.

"I love that song…" A contented smile came over Uriko's face, while a dreamy look appeared in her eyes.

"Hrmp," her companion scoffed. "The lyrics are full of it."

"Excuse me?" She lost her lighthearted posture and looked at him, disbelieving. "They're sweet and meaningful!"

"Sure, in a mythical world perhaps," Kenji argued.

The female teenager grumbled, "You just don't understand… you have to learn emotion, how to show feelings, how to portray love for others…"

"And then suffer the anxiety of wondering if my feelings are returned?" The young ninja shook his head in disgust. "No thank you, I have better things to worry about than that."

"Some day, I'll make you take back those words," Uriko declared confidently, flashing him one of her winning smiles.

"I'll believe it **if** that happens," Kenji smirked.

She just continued smiling and began to chant a couple of the lyric notes, "Close your eyes; leave the world behind…"

He groaned his disapproval, and she reached her hand out toward him, brushing aside a few strands of his dark-colored bangs away from his forehead.

"Find a place, deep inside… Where, you imagine,"

Immediately, the male freshman student stepped back, instinctively shrinking away from her touch.

"That love… never dies…" she continued, grinning playfully at him.

"Oh, brother." Kenji commented, looking warily at her.

"Well!" Uriko tilted her chin up in mock superiority. "I'll change your mind; you can count on it!"

"We shall see about that…" he replied, turning around and starting to go back toward her house.

_She thinks she can change me… my feelings…_ Approaching the door leading back inside, he rolled his eyes. _Hah, I'd like to see that happen._

He grabbed a hold of one door handle, then hesitated, deciding to wait for his partner. _What's taking her so long?_

Just then, Uriko appeared into his view, the thin handle of the boom box gripped tightly in her hand. Smiling cheerfully at him, she flashed him a cute wink and placed her free hand over his, tugging the glass door open. Startled by the intimate contact, Kenji retracted his hand as soon as he could, shooting the brown-haired girl a dirty look.

"Hehehe…" she giggled as she daintily stepped inside.

"Grrrrrrr…" he growled, following her.

"Don't be so sensitive!" The female teenager scolded lightly, wagging her finger at him playfully.

"Hrmp," came his grumpy reply. "What the hell took you so long, anyway?"

"O-Oh, nothing!" she exclaimed quickly.

A shadow of a smile formed over his lips. "You're lying."

"I, I was thinking, that's all!" Uriko said convincingly as the two of them strode through her living room and went to sit down on the kitchen table. She walked over to the counter where her backpack was residing and unzipped it, pulling out her own binder.

"About…?" he probed.

"U-um, school… our project…"

"Hmm, is that it?" Kenji had a small grin on his face; provoking her was somewhat intriguing.

"What is this, Twenty Questions??" his partner huffed.

"No, it's not," he admitted. "But I am curious; can you blame me?"

She gave him a sideways glance. "Since when did you ever care about what I did or thought?"

The question surprised him a little. "I… I don't," the fourteen-year-old ninja replied.

Uriko sighed, hiding her disappointment. "I-I figured…" She turned away from him and focused on taking a piece of paper out of her binder as well as a mechanical pencil.

__

I guess I should at least try to befriend her… he thought. _Since we are partners for this project and she did help me out that time with the black-clothed guy…_

"O-Okay, so maybe I do care-a little," Kenji said after a moment of silence. "We, we should be friends."

"I always thought we were," she told him, cocking her head to an angle. "You didn't think so?"

"I… wasn't sure, that's all."

She grinned. "You can be sure now-we are!"

He couldn't help but smile back at her enthusiastic answer.

"So, out of curiosity…" the Kenpo student started. "Do you like any of the girls in our Bio class?"

Her companion held back a laugh. "Are you trying to set me up with someone?"

"Hey, I need to teach you about love!" she said firmly. "I promised that I would change your mind, remember?"

"You only said that about seventeen times," Kenji replied dryly. "There's no need to be so redundant."

"In your words, 'Oh, brother'." Uriko rolled her eyes. "Why don't you believe me for a change?"

"I trust you," he informed her. "But belief is another thing." 

"They're not much different, in my opinion," she said, flipping her long brown hair over her shoulder. "Just mark my words; take me seriously, because I **am** being sincere."

"So if you are so insistent about getting me to fall in love with some girl," the ninja snorted. "Why don't you be the 'unlucky candidate'?"

As soon as the last sentence came out of his mouth, both of the teenagers blushed.

"Umm, you were joking… right?" she peered at him curiously.

"Y-Yeah, of course!" He answered. "What did you think?"

She didn't answer; Kenji looked at her out of the corner of his eye and was surprised to see her sitting quietly, seeming lost in her own thoughts.

Noting that, he said to her, "I'll observe you as my first choice, okay?"

"I-I guess," she replied uncertainly. "If you want to…"

"I'm not doing this out of obligation," he informed. "I suppose I am a little interested in this plan of yours."

A wide smile spread over her lips. "I'm glad to hear that!"

"…Well, let's get to work," Kenji said finally.

"Okay."

He raised an eyebrow and wondered _why does she want to help me? What did I ever do for her?_

Sneaking a secret look at Uriko, a small smile formed. _Her enthusiasm is cute… and so is she… I never really took the time to notice that… _The blue-haired ninja smirked. _Perhaps she could be my candidate…_

Realizing what he'd just thought, the teenager shook his head. _Yeah, like she'd ever agree to that…_

Pushing those thoughts aside, he went to work, unknowing to him at the time, with his future significant other sitting by his side.

*****

__

I was a fool…

The memory fading away, Kenji sneered disapprovingly. _How naïve, how stupid I was at fourteen…_

"You… you were right," he murmured, looking at the still face of his fiancée. "Riko…"

He placed a tentative hand on her forehead. Feeling the warm temperature, the young man smiled weakly and leaned over and placed a gentle kiss on the surface. At the touch, a soft moan came from her and she stirred a bit.

"…? Riko?"

This time, he felt her hand twitch.

"Uriko!"

Hearing his exclaim, six figures immediately darted into the room.

"What is it, Kenji??" Yugo questioned his younger brother.

"Is my sister up yet?!" Alice asked hastily, running over to Uriko's side.

"She moved!" The ninja told them.

"Ugh…" came from the young woman on the bed.

"She is awake!" Mitsuko and Long exclaimed at the same time.

Jane went over to Kenji and peered down at Uriko; she said gently, "Hey… wake up, runt…"

"Ughhh…" was her reply.

Smiling shakily, the mole zoanthrope urged softly, "Come on, Sleeping Beauty…"

The others chuckled faintly at the nickname.

As if on command, her eyes fluttered to a slow opening, her long, thin eyelashes touching the peak of her eyelid. She felt a warmth tighten around her hand, and she reveled in the compassionate feeling. Focusing her light brown pupils on the image before her, the blurred vision cleared up shortly. A dark-haired young man came into her view, and she smiled weakly at the sight of her fiancé. 

"H-hi…" Uriko murmured softly.

Blinking back his tears, Kenji gently slid a hand under her neck and partnered with his other hand to hug her gently, but with fierce emotion.

"So… you-you're my Prince Charming," she said, laughing weakly.

"No… I'm not the hero, Riko." He told her. "You're the one that defeated Xion."

"What's that?!" Jane exclaimed.

"Kenji, what are you talking about??" Yugo asked.

"You and Uriko fought against Xion?" Long looked at the two of them with concern. "Alone?"

"What happened??" Alice questioned frantically. "Tell me!"

"Stop it!!" Kenji ordered. "Uriko doesn't need all of this right now!"

"Explain… later…?" the Kenpo student murmured.

"Relax, sweetheart," Mitsuko assured her daughter gently. "We can wait." She looked at the others sternly. "Right?"

They all nodded reluctantly.

"Ahem…" the sixth newcomer spoke up, the friends turned to look at the doctor.

"Yes?" The boar zoanthrope asked.

"What is it, Danielle?" Alice inquired.

Her closest hospital friend and fellow zoanthrope, twenty-one year old Dr. Danielle Kaysley smiled reassuringly at them. "Hello, Alice." Her waist-length black hair was tied back in a ponytail and her wide green eyes twinkled as she said in a reliving tone of voice, "Ms. Nonomura has regained consciousness; that is a good sign. She will recover to her full extent, so please do not worry."

Jane studied her face expression carefully. "How long will it take?"

"Being young and a fast healer, I will approximate around two to three weeks," the woman replied.

"Thank you, Doctor-" Yugo trailed off.

"Kaysley. Dr. Danielle Kaysley," she filled in, reaching out to shake his hand.

"Yeah… thanks…" Uriko smiled.

"I would like to take your pulse, now, if that is alright with you, Ms. Nonomura," Dr. Kaysley said to her patient.

"O-Okay…" she replied. Kenji's eyes widened, and she felt his hand carefully fumble with her hand underneath the blanket. Tucking something into his pocket, he stood up and the others all backed away, clearing a path for the pediatrician.

She smiled kindly at the Kenpo student. "Your left hand, please?"

_My left hand… uh oh!!_ Uriko thought worriedly. Glancing at her fiancé, he smiled and quickly flashed her the ring from his pocket. Sighing in relief, she smiled back and took out her hand timidly.

After taking her pulse, the doctor said, "I am going to give you a pain-killer shot, okay? It will numb your injuries, but you will feel drowsy." 

The cat zoanthrope shook her head weakly. "I want to stay awake… talk to Kenji…"

"Trust me, you need your rest, Ms. Nonomura…"

"I promise I'll stay here, k?" The young ninja told her. "When you wake up, we can talk for as long as you want."

She nodded as the doctor took a needle from the cabinet and placed a clear liquid into the tube. Injecting it into Uriko's arm, she indeed began to feel sleepy and gently closed her eyes. Kenji stood there, watching her until her breathing subsided and her chest rose and fell in a peaceful rhythm.

Suddenly, he felt a hand clamp firmly on his shoulder. "Young man, we have to talk." 

He turned around to face his older brother and nodded. "I know, Yugo."

Everyone walked out of the room; Dr. Kaysley went to a different floor while the group of six friends proceeded toward the waiting room. Kenji sat at the front, and with a sigh, began an explanation about the battle with Xion, excluding what he and Uriko had done beforehand.

****

End of Chapter 14


	15. A Time Of Relaxation

****

Special thanks to: Leopard_Knight and Andrew Glasco who have read and reviewed every chapter of my Bloody Roar III fic so far. I really appreciate your support, guys! J

Bloody Roar III: Reunited by Chance, a Reflection of the Past

By Tiger5913

Chapter 15

A Time Of Relaxation

__

A time in their younger life

Remembered vividly by a trigger.

A sudden stir tells them that 

She has escaped her 'coma'.

Seeing her awake relieves his heart.

_Huuhhh… this feels nice…_

The young woman sighed blissfully as she ran the washcloth over the areas of her body, letting warm water run down from it and dribble down past her legs. The shower door was steamed up, and with a small smile, Uriko placed one finger against the cool surface. Tracing words into it, her grin widened as she retracted her finger and read the cursive message quietly, "Uriko Takiyo Ohgami." After that, she went back to cleansing herself in the shower.

It had been a week and a half since she was let out of the hospital, with her injuries partially recovered. She spent the time resting in bed at home, allowed only limited visiting from her zoanthrope friends. Now that she was more than halfway healed up, and Mitsuko promised her daughter that she would let her get out that upcoming weekend.

_It's been forever since I've seen Erika and the others!_ The young woman shook her head.

A soft knock interrupted her thoughts. "Uriko?"

_Must be Mother…_ "I'll be out in a minute!" She called out through the musky steam of the bathroom.

Letting the water spray and rinse her body, the brown-haired teenager turned it off after a little bit. Opening the shower door and grabbing a towel, she dried her hair hurriedly, wrapping the cotton piece of material around her head. Taking a silk robe from the rack in the bathroom, she slipped her arms into the smooth sleeves and tied the knot together at the front of her waist.

Tugging open the door, Uriko began to say, "Do you need something, Moth- Ahh!"

The other figure in her darkened bedroom let out an exclaim of surprise. "Riko!"

Only one person called her by that nickname; "Kenji!" Blushing, she crossed her arms in instinctive modesty.

"So that's why the hot water was running low in my shower," Kenji said with a sheepish grin, casually looking away. Clothed in just black jeans, he shyly crossed his arms over his bare chest, glancing at her a bit timidly. The blue and black shade of the nighttime kept her room in darkness, the bright stars being the only source of weak lighting.

"Teehee, really?" She smiled at him a bit awkwardly, brushing her hair away from her forehead.

He nodded. "The moment I was doused with cold water, I hopped out." His grin widening, he shook his hair at her, spraying drops of the water on her face and robe.

"Heey, I rather **liked** my hot shower!" The young woman squealed her protest, holding her hands up in defense.

A sly glint appeared in his eyes. "I know, heh, heh…"

Uriko stuck out her tongue at him playfully. "Scrooge."

Stepping up to her, the blue-haired ninja placed his hands on her waist timidly, closing the space between them. Smiling warmly at her, he leaned foreword and nuzzled her neck gently, with affection. "Are you feeling okay? I mean, physically; your injuries."

"I'm all right," his fiancée assured him. "My back hurts a bit, but other than that, everything is fine. So… what's up?"

Taking one hand away from her waist, the mole zoanthrope reached into his pocket and pulled out something hidden by the shadows. "Well, your mom is letting me stay the night again." He smiled. "Mitsuko is really nice. She'll be the mother I never had." 

She blushed at the mention.

"And I…" the young man continued, "…Didn't get a chance to give this back to you…"

Looking down, she saw that it was the ring and a small smile played about her lips. "Oh… yeah, thanks…" 

Timidly smiling back, Kenji slipped the cool, circular object onto her finger and continued, "Uh… that's not it, though."

The brown-haired girl grinned. "What else, a midnight flight to Vegas?"

He gave her a sideways glance. "Should we save that for our…honeymoon?"

Uriko blushed but managed to kid, "Boys… so sex-obsessed…"

"Hey, I resent that remark," the ninja commented lightly, planting a soft kiss on the tip of her nose.

She laughed, a quiet, joyous sound. "Okay, sorry about the distractions. Did you need something else?"

"Oh yeah!" He smiled. "I have something that I think you'll like…"

Leaving her with a curious look, Kenji retrieved a square-shaped item from his other pocket and proceeded to her compact disc player. While he was setting it up, the young woman shrugged and went over to sit down on her bed.

_I wonder what Kenji is planning…_ she took out a brush and began combing through her long auburn hair. Several feet away, her companion stood up as a soft, melodious tone began playing.

_"Close your eyes…"_

Her large brown eyes widened and her hand froze on the hair-brushing task; watching her reaction, Kenji smiled.

__

"Leave the world behind,"

"Oh my lord…" Uriko quickly set down her brush and sprinted over to her CD player, next to the blue-haired teenager.

__

"Find a place, deep inside… where, you imagine that love never_ dies…"_

"Kenji…" she gasped, a dreamy look coming over her expression. "I haven't heard that song since…"

"…Since we were fourteen?" He seemed a bit surprised when she nodded. "Really? Wow… been a while then."

"Yeah…" was her gentle, mesmerized reply.

__

"In the night, when you reach for me in your heart…"

A small giggle escaped from Uriko's lips. "I remember your reaction when you first heard this song…"

__

"Hear my sigh… Now, and forever… Will you remember?"

_Yup, I was pretty much a jerk…_ Kenji rolled his eyes at the thought. "If I recall correctly… I said that this song was full of it and looked upon you in distaste."

She smiled sympathetically. "Awww… you weren't that bad…"

__

"When you love, you're not alone; the one you love is there beside you…"

"Well, I hope not…" he said, awkwardly scratching the back of his head.

__

"Never lost, or on your own; the gentle hand, is there to guide you…"

_I wonder if she'll…_ "H-Hey, Riko…"

The female zoanthrope glanced at him, slightly tilting her head to one side. "Yeah?"

__

"Like the sun, I am shining down true the veil, toward the clouds…"

"Do you want to… dance?"

She regarded him curiously. "Hmm?"

_"When you can't see me, you must believe me…"_

The blue-haired ninja bowed and extended his hand. With a smile, he asked, "May I have this dance?"

With a smile, Uriko nodded and accepted his request.

__

"Never lost, or on your own; the gentle hand, is there to guide you…"

Letting out a soft sigh of contentment, she intertwined her arms around her fiancé's neck and gently laid her head sideways down on his chest. At first a bit startled by the feel of her smooth cheek against his bare skin, Kenji relaxed after a realization and smiled faintly. He gently placed a hand around to her back and the other upon her hair, his one-inch height measurement over her normally making the situation seem somewhat awkward, but the couple paid no heed to it.

__

"When you love, you're not alone; the one you love is there beside you…"

Slowly swaying to the melody, the young man carefully tightened his grip on her, his fingers applying pressure into the small of her back. At the contact, Uriko winced slightly.

__

"Never lost, or on your own; the gentle hand, is there to guide you…"

"W-what?" Immediately releasing his hold, he questioned, "What's wrong?"

"Oh, i-it's nothing…" she assured him quickly. "Um, just my back."

"Cramps? Aches?"

She shrugged. "Just a muscle thing, I guess."

He chuckled softly. "Do you… need a massage, backrub, or something of the sort?"

The cat zoanthrope smiled. "If you were serious, sure, I'd go for it."

"I _am_ serious…" he replied.

"Hmm, for real…?"

Her companion nodded. "Yeah. But one warning: I have no experience whatsoever."

Smiling, she told him, "I don't care about inexperience; it's the thought that counts. Thanks, though. I would really appreciate a massage, backrub, whatever you want to offer." 

Gently caressing her back through the material of the robe, he backed away with a shaky smile and led her over to her bed.

"This okay with you…?" The ninja inquired somewhat shyly.

The young woman giggled. "Well, it's either my bed or the floor, teehee."

Kenji let out a chuckle. "Yeah, hard choice. Cool floor or soft, warm bed."

She descended down slowly, resting on her stomach and laying her head on her folded arms.

"Did you have a good shower?" the mole zoanthrope asked, going over to close her door before walking back to stand by her.

"Yeah… very relaxing…" she replied, smiling in contentment.

"Does…your back hurt that much?"

"Nah, not too big of a problem," the cat zoanthrope hid her grimace as she shifted on her bed.

He smiled. "I hope I can help you with that."

Turning her head to the side away from him, she said, "Lead on, masseuse. I have confidence in you; don't worry."

Letting out a shaky sigh, the young ninja knelt down next to her and splayed his hands on her back. Rubbing his fingers gently and smoothly in a rhythm against her tender skin, he smiled joyously when a rapturous sigh escaped her lips.

"Not bad…" she murmured softly. "Don't stop… k?"

"I won't, unless you want to," her fiancé answered. "But you have to tell me, alright?"

Unknown to him, Uriko grinned. "You know I usually speak my mind."

"Heh, yeah…" was his reply.

He started to massage in a slightly faster-pace, but his fingers became slightly entangled with the silky material. "Um, s-sorry…" he apologized quietly.

The brown-haired girl shook her head. "Don't worry… Um… I think I can do something about that."

Kenji retracted his hands for a moment as she sat up on her bottom, facing the wall and away from him. Untying the knot of her robe, she slid her arms out of the sleeves and let the smooth material fall to her waist. Leaving the upper part of her body exposed, she laid back down on her now bare stomach, feeling the coolness of her bed sheets. Unaware of her companion's reaction of surprise; she again rested her head on her arms, and turned so that her cheek rested upon her white pillow.

"I hope it's okay with you…" she said softly.

His eyes widening at what she'd just done, the ninja swallowed nervously, trying to push aside the sudden urges that had just ignited. Taking in a deep breath, he placed his hands on her naked back, groaning inwardly at the softness of her tender skin.

"Um, s-sure… But are you sure you're not… cold or… anything like that?" Kenji murmured his question, reverting his gaze to her wide, light brown eyes that were watching him intently.

"Don't worry Kenji," she answered with a gentle chuckle. "I was only joking earlier when I said that you were sex-obsessed."

_Ugh, you might not be so far from the truth… After all, you don't want to know what my body wants to happen…_ he groaned at the thought, silently cursing himself.

"You okay?" Uriko asked curiously, hearing his groan. "Something wrong?"

"Oh, I-I'm fine Riko," he replied timidly. "You d-don't have to worry about me…" _Riko… so selfless; always thinking about others…_

Looking away, the blue-haired ninja relied on his instincts to guide his hands, rubbing her skin gently but with firmness. Moving up near her neck, he massaged that area thoroughly, while she closed her eyes. His fingers trailed downward to caress the lower part of her back and he kneaded her tensed up muscles with timid inexperience.

_Hope I'm not going to give her a sprain or something… _He clenched his teeth at the thought of causing additional pain to her. _I'm not exactly a professional masseuse._

The feeling of his palms tentatively rubbing against her back made Uriko muffle a moan that threatened to come out from her mouth. His fingers continued to gently caress her skin, and she relaxed into the heated embrace. A fiery tingle of bliss conjured up inside of her, running from her legs up to her neck. He started massaging her more slowly, taking his time with each area of her back and applying gentle vigor.

__

Inexperience…hah… she thought, slowly letting out a sigh.

This time, she couldn't hold back her moan of pleasure and contentment. Kenji heard it and slowed down, worried that he'd hurt her. _Oh shit, what did I do?? _"Riko…" he started to say. "Uh… s-should I stop now?"

She didn't answer, just let out another soft moan of bliss. 

_Wait a minute, I don't think I'm hurting her…_ "What's wrong? I'm not hurting you, am I??"

Uriko shook her head firmly. "No way, far from it… This just feels… really good…"

His eyes slightly clouded over with passion when he realized the meaning behind that statement. 

"Riko…" he murmured softly, stopping completely. The male teenager reached across and gently cupped her chin, the action made her eyelids spring up. He opened his mouth to say something, but the sight of her light brown eyes, hazy with emotion, matching his own feelings, made him feel a bit taken back.

"Sweet kitten…" the words came out as a tortured groan from the young ninja. "Ich liebe dich…"

"Ich liebe dich auc… my mole-boy…" Uriko replied, smiling weakly when she used the nickname.

He shook himself out of his 'trance'. _I… have to fight it…ugh, ask first, stupid…_ With those thoughts he found that it was to find the words to form his statement. _Ughhh…oh, man…_

Even as he was thinking that, Kenji went to gently lift her upper body from the bed and wrapped his arms around her naked waist, reveling in the rapturous feeling. A groan escaped his lips as their bare chests collided. Unfamiliar with the cool air directly touching her skin, she shivered as a chill shot through her body. 

"Cold…?" The mole zoanthrope asked gently, shuddering slightly as he looked into her eyes.

"A little…" she replied with a soft gasp. "I… I-I'm used to wearing a shirt, heehee…"

"I… I can warm you up…" he suggested quietly, sounding a bit provocative. "I-I want… I want…"

She gasped again as his grip tightened slightly and his warm breath fanned her face. "You-you want… what?"

"…Riko…" he groaned and started to plant hot, fiery kisses on her neck; the cat zoanthrope felt a purr forming at the base of her throat. "You…"

"I… what…?"

"You, it's you," Kenji said firmly, kissing the tender nape of her neck with tentative fierceness.

"Ohhh…" Uriko leaned her head back with a moan, as he became more insistent and his lips traveled lower.

_M-man, whoever would have known…_ she thought with a chill.

"Do… do you want… to stop?" he asked against her skin. _If she says stop… I gotta do it no matter what…_

The auburn-haired young woman slowly shook her head and the two of them slid down, until they were lying side by side on her bed. She shivered slightly when she felt his arousal pressing against her upper thigh, drawing her attention. "Oh… man…" she murmured, slipping an arm around his neck as their lips met briefly.

"I-I'm sorry," her fiancé said softly.

"You… don't need to, um, apologize…" she assured him.

"Riko… You won't… regret this in the morning?" Kenji asked timidly, his lips meeting her breastbone. "I know that I wouldn't… but what about you…?"

"I wouldn't either…" she answered with breathless sincerity, her eyes fluttering to a close.

"If… if you want to stop… tell me…"

"I will, trust me…" the cat zoanthrope unintentionally dug her nails into his back at the feeling of his cheek pressed against the side of her breast.

As the couple continued, going further until reaching the peak, their eventual consummation merged them into one, their souls subconsciously flirting with each other in tantalization. The room stayed cloaked in darkness, with only the stars standing out, illuminating their small source of light.

****

End of Chapter 15


	16. Another Recollection Arises

****

Author's Note: Thanks to a _complaint_, ahem, that I got from a certain reader of mine about my semi-lemon scenes, I suppose that means I'm writing those horribly. To that reader, you won't have to worry, because there won't be any more of those, at least not in this story. One more thing, you should be careful how you distinguish constructive criticism from flames. Know where to draw the line. I'm sorry to force the rest of you to read this if the reader I'm talking about isn't you; please continue on and I hope that you will enjoy this chapter.

****

Bloody Roar III: Reunited by Chance, a Reflection of the Past

By Tiger5913

Chapter 16

Another Recollection Arises

__

A night of bliss occurs, binding 

Together their hearts and souls.

The morning following the events

Lead to a wanted reunion, but gets

Interrupted by an unexpected revelation.

_Mmmm…_

Lazily stretching her arms over her head, Uriko allowed her eyes to remain closed as she let out a yawn. Her long black lashes fluttered against the lower part of her eyes when she blinked, wincing at the bright sunlight that met her vision. Shifting her position a bit, she smiled as a feeling of vague tenderness graced her body, letting her skin feel soft. Her hair, let down loose after the shower she had taken the previous night, was spread out upon the upper portion of her bed, the silky brown strands tickling her cotton pillow.

Yawning again, she slowly turned to her side, her arm grazing a warm part of the figure lying next to her. Feeling slightly confused; she sat up on her behind and glanced over at the space on her bed that was presently occupied.

"Oh!" she gasped; covering her mouth with her hand as she suddenly remembered the events that had happened the night before.

In surprised instinct, the young woman hopped out of her bed and immediately regretted it when her bare body met the chilly air of morning. "Damn it!" She muttered, shivering as she quickly hopped over to her dresser for an outfit to change into.

__

Good thing Kenji closed the door last night before my massage… or else that might have interfered with us… with our… she blushed at the thought.

"…Need this?" a voice behind her piped up timidly.

The auburn-haired teenager whirled around to see her fiancé sitting up in bed, her pale blue bathrobe in his outstretched hand. Blushing even more fiercely, she murmured, "thanks…" and took the robe, slipping into it with modesty and tying the knot around her waist securely.

"Riko, I… Err… Do you… um…" he trailed off.

Uriko gave him a shy smile and went over to sit down by the bashful ninja. "I don't regret it… if that's what you're trying to ask."

_Hope I wasn't utterly horrible for a first-timer… _His grin a bit shaky, Kenji embraced her tightly and whispered into her ear, "Thank you…"

"For what…?"

Unknown to her, he blushed as well. "For… for the… event that we shared…"

Her smile grew wider. "I…really loved it."

"Riko… you are my first," her companion told her. _My first everything…_ he thought silently to himself. _You are so… special to me…_

Pressing the side of her cheek against his dark blue hair, she replied softly, "And vice versa…"

_'When you love, you're not alone…' _the blue-haired teenager remembered a part of the song. _I'm not alone… Uriko's song is right… Wait…our song…_

Smiling, the young woman pulled back slightly and stroked her fingers through his tousled blue hair. "I bet even your hair looks better than mine right now," she said with a teasing giggle. 

"But I like your hair…" her fiancé protested with a smile, leaning toward her and kissing a portion of her long brown bangs. "It's beautiful… and silky, too…"

Pink began flushing on her cheeks. "Thanks…"

Just as the couple was closing the space between them for a kiss, a soft, but firm voice was sounded, mewing outside of the bedroom door.

Uriko pulled away and her eyes widened. "Oh, it's Kineko!"

"Did I…lock her outside?" Kenji asked, looking a bit sheepish.

"I think she got out of my room before I went to take a shower…" she answered, getting up and walking across the room. "Mother says that every cat needs their own private time, so I usually keep my door opened. That way, she can come and go as she pleases." Reaching the door, the Kenpo student turned the knob and pulled it inward as the small black kitten came trotting in.

"Mrrrowlll…" Kineko mewed, tilting her head while her wide yellow eyes flickered upon Kenji.

"Hi kitty…" Uriko greeted warmly, bending down to ground level and carefully scooping the cat up into her arms. "Sorry that you had to be stuck out there all night." She paused briefly to gently nuzzle the feline's head with her hand. "Was it cold?" 

"Prowllll…" the kitten purred, rubbing her head more fiercely against her owner's palm. Stopping after a little bit, she looked over at the ninja in curiosity and mewed at the female zoanthrope in question.

Uriko smiled. "Not used to seeing Kenji here and this time of day, huh?" Kineko purred her agreement, her thin, ebony-colored tail slowly swaying in the air.

_This time of day, I'd probably be still sleeping in my room, waking up to Yugo and Alice's cute little 'breakfast routine'…_ The blue-haired teenager shook his head in a fond manner at the thought of his older brother and the nurse.

"What?" The young woman said in a playful tone, looking down at her cat. "You want to know if there'll be more times that Kenji stays over?"

At that mention, he blushed, but a part of him wished that he could… someday.

Looking up and catching the red on his face, she grinned teasingly. "Hmm… may-be…"

With that said, she gave a quick kiss to the top of the black kitten's head and set her down on the floor. Kineko scurried off down the hall, soon out of their sight.

"Aww, so Kineko gets a kiss and I don't?" Kenji pouted lightly, a small twinkle in his dark brown eyes letting his fiancée know that he was just teasing her.

Uriko lifted a finger to one of her lower eyelids and gently tugged it down, then stuck out the tip of her tongue at him: her former trademark. "Well that's 'cause she's cute!"

"Hey, and I'm not?" The ninja faked a sniffle and pretended to look hurt. "You're gonna make me cry… waahh…"

"Ohhh, my poor baby…" she shook her head but smiled. Going back to the bed, she wrapped him in a hug and whispered into his ear, "You're not cute because instead, you're handsome…"

"Hrmp, lucky save," he grumbled.

The corners of her lips quirked down slightly. "He-ey!"

Kenji began to laugh before she started socking his arm. "Kidding, kidding!"

"Say Uncle!" the brown-haired girl ordered firmly, grinning in a playful manner.

"No way!" Came the persisted reply.

Sticking her tongue out at his refusal, she retracted herself from him, sat down on a part of her bed and grinned when he murmured to her in a sing-along tone of voice, "Girls just wanna have fu-un…" She nodded her confirmation.

Silence fell in the room as the couple sat for a serene period of time, knowing smiles timidly forming over each of their lips. After a little while, Uriko caught the gaze of her fiancé and said softly, "You know, I just realized something…"

"Yeah?"

"I think I've kind of hogged you to myself too much since you came back," she told him, smiling faintly. "Do you want to go out to the park today or something and meet up with our friends?"

"Erika and the others still don't know that I'm back yet, huh?" The ninja questioned, shaking his head slightly. "Riko…"

"Hmm?" The young woman looked at him, curiosity in her large brown eyes.

"How was their… I mean, what were their - our friends' - reactions to my… leave of absence?" The dark-haired teenager ended his question in a quiet tone of voice.

Her gaze fell to peer at the blue spirally designs on the surface of the blanket that was modestly wrapped around his lower body. "Erika and Ryan are…were…really concerned. I mean, one of their friends disappearing for such a period of time…"

_I hate being a damn nuisance to others, especially my friends._ A pang of guilt gnawed at his conscience and he frowned at himself.

"Chrysta and Curt…" his companion continued. "They were worried too, you know. That's why I think it'd be good for all of us to meet together today." She paused to give him a small smile. "What a reunion it would be, huh?"

"Yeah… I-I guess so…" was Kenji's quiet reply. "But… how am I supposed to explain anything…?"

Her head lowered. "I wish humans supported zoanthropes more strongly… then I wouldn't be scared to reveal my abilities to Erika…" her eyes fluttered softly to a close. "We've been friends for a long time… it feels weird to keep such an important secret from her, you know?"

The mole zoanthrope's eyes were glazed over as an old memory was conjured up in his mind… 

*****

"Dork!"

A twelve-year-old with a head of black hair was standing on a school playground, his schoolbag tossed to the ground, several other preteens and student surrounding him. The school newcomer's young face turned into a fierce scowl at the vicious remarks being flung carelessly at him. 

"Loner!" A girl nearby yelled cruelly. 

"Hypocrite!" Another one cried.

Anger boiled up inside him and the figure closed his dark brown eyes, deeply focusing his thoughts as the other scholars continued taunting him. All of a sudden, they were all silent, stopping their previous relentless comments thrown at him regarding his cool posture and status at the school. 

The moment he had reopened his eyes, his clothes were ripped when his muscles had rippled and grown. The beginning features of a mole form were displayed: an elongated beak, the thick mass of dark fur that were in patches at different parts of his small body, and his fingers had curved into wicked claws, the pointy gleaming objects stealing attention away from the other features. His now-blood red irises widened in shock as the other students around him gasped at the sight.

"H-hey, he's one of those animal-morphing peoples!" Another female screeched, pointing his finger accusingly at the boy in the middle.

"I-I am not!" He tried to protest, his words sounding garbled from the partial transformation.

"H-he and his friends are gonna torture and kill us!" A boy proclaimed, his eyes wildly scanning the other students for support. "Let's get outta here before he hurts us!!"

The children darted off, leaving the lone boy standing there, tears of sorrow and resentment slowly trickling down his cheeks.

"I…I'm not a freak…" he said quietly, sounding as if he were trying to convince himself. The young male student fully turned back into his human form and headed for his backpack. His eyes inflamed, he yelled out rhetorically in the yard, "I am not a freak!!"

The wind brushing against his dark-colored bangs, he picked up the pack and slung it casually over his shoulder. As the tears began to dry, he roughly wiped the remainder away with the sleeve of his sweatshirt and walked off the campus, heading around the corner. Suddenly, he neared a small figure that was sitting on a bench nearby, back turned to him, oblivious of his presence. The set of large brown eyes of the person filled with sympathy and long black hair flowed freely in the breeze.

"He can morph…" the other said, interest filling her pupils. 

Realizing that she had been just another observer, his expression darkened and he stepped foreword, instincts urging him to go grab the girl and inflict to her some of the pain that he'd stored up inside him from the previous incident. 

"That new boy reminds me of… Kenji…" Her face saddened a bit as she continued murmuring to herself.

He stopped at what she had just said, his body freezing up at the mention of the name.

"He could morph just like me…" the girl sighed forlornly. "I wonder what happened to him…"

__

She knows my name…? Her unknown companion reveled back in shock, his sneakers scraping against the concrete sidewalk. _But how… this is only my first day here, no one knows me…_

Not paying attention to where he was backing up, the young male zoanthrope tripped over a bump and fell on his bottom, causing a bit of noise. Letting out a gasp, the girl jumped up from her seat and whirled around, her wide brown eyes meeting his in surprise.

"You…you're the-!" she started to say.

Kenji flipped up into a standing position and cut her off abruptly, his pupils flashing in anger. "If you call me a freak I'll hurt you! I don't care who you are, even if you're just a girl!"

She looked at him defiantly, the look turning into an upset glare as she yelled, "I'm not just a girl; I have a name and it's Uriko! I can morph too! So… so why don't you just shut up!"

Their twin set of eyes widened at her admission. Biting her lip, she turned and ran down the street, her light blue backpack colliding with her back.

"…Riko." That subconsciously escaped his mouth. He shook his head firmly, shutting his eyes in the feeling of confusion. 

_I know her from somewhere…_ the male zoanthrope thought to himself. _She seems familiar… but why??_

His mind dwelling on his meeting with the strange girl - Uriko, she'd yelled at him - he tightened his grip on the strap of his backpack and continued heading toward his home.

*****

_Riko's right about being cautious…_ _Who knows how Erika and the others would react if they knew about our abilities…?_

"We have be careful about that subject," the blue-haired ninja said finally, letting out a heavy sigh. "They're our friends… but…"

"Does friendship overcome fear?" Uriko questioned rhetorically, tilting her head to a slight angle.

"Good point…"

She managed a tight-lipped smile. "Well, we should at least see our friends… and let them know of your return."

"What about the explanations…?"

"Be as vague as you can," the young woman said. "I mean, tell them the parts that you can… Leave out, obviously, your meeting with Xion - which all of us are yet still wondering about - and just tell them you… got really sidetracked or something…"

Kenji raised an eyebrow warily. "I was gone for almost three years because I got sidetracked?"

She rolled her eyes. "Okay, so my brain doesn't work right in the morning…"

Her fiancé grinned. "So what's your excuse for the other times of day?"

"Hey!" The brown-haired girl protested, wagging her index finger at him. "Don't make me pound you again!"

He laughed, a husky, lighthearted sound. "Normally, I'd take you on, but… uh, I think today could be…" he paused and blushed. "…Be an exception."

Her cheeks flushed as well. "I'll, um, go get changed in the restroom…"

"Nu uh," he opposed, shaking his head, starting to get up into a standing position. "I don't want to kick you out of your own room. Um, after we both get done, let's meet outside on your front porch, k?"

Looking away while she nodded and blushed more deeply, the female teenager waited a couple of minutes, listening for the shuffling noises of her companion leaving her room and making a quick getaway to the bathroom in the hallway. After hearing silence, she let out a shaky breath of relief while her heart pounded from the thrill. Walking over to her dresser, a small smile formed over Uriko's lips as she thought of the upcoming reunion with their friends.

_I bet they're all gonna be really surprised,_ her smile grew wider. _And after our reunion, Kenji and I have to come back so he can finish his explanation…_

Picking an outfit up from one of her drawers, she began untying the knot of her robe while wondering, _What did happen to Kenji that got him to meet up with Xion…?_

*****

"I'm not sure I am ready for this…"

The soft morning breeze blew around the strolling couple, beckoning loose strands of their hair to tie up with the wind. The climate of the morning was chilly, yet certain spots grazed with the warm thin rays of sunlight. Inhaling in a breath of the cool air, the blonde-haired woman assured her partner, "Don't be afraid, Long…"

"I can't really help it," the Kenpo master insisted. "I fear his reaction, in addition to how he will treat me after he finds out…"

Placing a hand on his arm, her sky blue eyes filling with compassion, Jane said to him, "I don't think you should anticipate a…positive…reaction-"

Still continuing their walk down the street, going toward Uriko's house, his eyes behind the lenses stayed trained to the floor as he replied, "I am definitely not expecting that."

"-But don't expect the worst, either." She finished. "I think the runt has been a good influence on Kenji, anyway."

A shadow of a smile touched Long's lips. "I believe so, too. Ever since Uriko and Kenji had their 'chance meeting'… neither of them have been the same." He hesitated and looked up at his girlfriend. "However…"

The leopard zoanthrope smiled warmly. "Just… let your worries for now, all right?"

His dark brown eyes left her figure and traveled to a figure standing on the porch in front of a house a little ways ahead. Every so often, the figure paused and looked up expectantly at the house, as if awaiting someone.

"I think that is Kenji…" Long murmured, gesturing toward the person with a swift jerk of his head.

She gave him a reassuring smile. "The moment of truth has arrived. But remember, he has a right to know about this…"

"Jane…" _What she's saying is true… but still…_ he thought, stopping momentarily to take off his glasses and hand them to his companion.

"…?" Jane peered questioningly at him. "You aren't wearing your contacts right now, right?"

"No, I'm not," he replied. "But I can see fine."

"Long, you don't really think that Kenji is going to resort to violence, do you?" She stopped as well and looked at him with a weary expression on her face, holding the delicate pair of lenses in the palm of one hand.

The tiger zoanthrope sighed deeply. "I honestly don't know what to think right now…" 

The blonde-haired woman slipped an arm around his waist and glanced at him wordlessly, waiting for him to continue.

"I…" he started to say in a quite tone of voice. "…I even attacked my own father and the other lab technicians upon realization of the zoanthrope powers that they had bestowed within me."

"That's a different situation," Jane told him gently. "You didn't do those things to Kenji…"

"Worse, I killed his father…" He sighed again, this time in frustration. _Not only his father but also-_

"Whatever happens, I will be here to stand by you," his girlfriend said albeit quickly with a timid smile, interrupting his thoughts. "You don't have to worry about losing my support, because you won't."

_Jane… if only you knew…_ Long offered her a shaky smile in return. "I thank you for that…"

Gently linking her arm with his, she urged him foreword and the couple resumed their walking.

_But will you still think that,_ the Kenpo master pondered. _If you found about out the other part of my connection with Adam Takiyo…?_

****

End Of Chapter 16


	17. The Period Of Reckoning

****

Bloody Roar III: Reunited by Chance, a Reflection of the Past

By Tiger5913

Chapter 17

****

The Period Of Reckoning

__

A secret, hidden deep, is about

To be revealed; a heavy conscience 

Hangs over the teller.

Caution lingers in his eyes, fearing

The reaction of his compatriot.

_I hope she'll be done soon…_

Slowly pacing around the porch outside of his fiancée's home, Kenji absentmindedly ran a hand through his hair while he mind doted on the possible reactions from their friends when they saw him back.

_Geez, they aren't going to sit there for ten hours and drill me with questions, are they?_ He wondered, sighing. _No, I know our friends better than that…_

"…Good morning," a voice piped up from behind.

Hearing that the voice was masculine, he turned around, knowing that it couldn't be Uriko. The ninja's eyes widened slightly at the sight of the couple standing nearby him but he gave them a small grin and answered, "Oh, morning to you too, Long, Jane."

After displaying a shaky smile, the Kenpo master quickly looked at Jane before he asked Kenji, "Are you preoccupied with anything at the moment?"

"Uriko and I are planning to go visit our friends and shock them with the concept of my coming back," the other male replied, his voice in a lighthearted joking manner at the last part of his sentence. "Do you need something? Are you having trouble?"

He could sense unease in Long's mood. "I… was wondering if I could speak with you about something… We could discuss it later, I suppose, however-"

"-It's rather important…" The lone female finished for her beau.

The blue-haired teenager raised an eyebrow. _Important? I wonder what could it be about…_ "Well, I'm just waiting for Uriko to get ready, so I guess I'm free right now."

The tiger zoanthrope eyed him warily, choosing his next words with delicate caution. "I am not sure that this matter could be resolved in a short period of time…"

But _now_ Kenji was curious as to what the discussion was going to be about. "If it that's important, I would like to know now, if you don't mind my saying."

The couple exchanged a brief look. "I'll keep the runt preoccupied if she comes down early," Jane whispered to her companion. "Just inform Kenji about… you know…"

Long nodded a bit uncertainly. "If, for any reason, I need to acquire your assistance…"

"Then call out," she responded. "Don't worry, I'm not going to desert you or anything like that."

He nodded again, glancing at the dark-haired ninja out of the corner of his eye. "Wish me luck."

She smiled faintly. "Good luck, and come back in one piece."

_Please don't remind me…_ the Kenpo master thought wryly to himself. "Kenji, is it alright with you if we go to the backyard?"

His compatriot shrugged and replied, "I don't have a problem with that." Even with that answer, he regarded Long with weary curiosity in his light brown eyes.

Crossing her arms over her chest, the blonde tomboy carefully watched as the two young men walk around the corner of the house. _Good luck,_ she thought, willing her boyfriend.

Reaching the backyard, the blue-haired ninja slowed down to a stop, standing in the middle of the area. Nearby him, the tiger zoanthrope stopped upon seeing his action. Kenji turned to look at him but his eyes eluded his gaze, flickering over the other aspects and objects in the yard.

"What's going on?" He asked when his patience began to wear thin, breaking the silence.

"…Kenji-or, Bryan," Long started to say, bringing himself to look at the person he was speaking to but hesitated.

"Yeah?" The young man inquired cautiously. "And Kenji, please." _What is up? Did something happen to Jane?_ "I'm sensing that something's wrong… What is it? Are you and Jane getting along okay?"

A bit taken back by the last question, the Kenpo master's eyes widened in slight surprise. "No… we're fine."

"Then… what's wrong?"

"Kenji, do you…" He stopped again. "…Do you remember _anything_ at all about your parents? I mean, regarding their…deaths."

_What…what a strange thing to ask…_ The mole zoanthrope glanced at him. "No… I don't even remember what they looked like, or anything about them. I can barely recall the events Uriko and I shared in our childhood."

His companion raised a hand to rest against his own forehead. "I don't know how I am going to explain this…" he muttered to himself.

"Why…why do you ask?" Kenji questioned. "Do you… I mean, did you know my parents or something?"

Long gave him a rueful smile. "I suppose you could put it that way."

"What's that supposed to mean…?" Frowning in slight confusion, he walked over to casually lean his back against a wall.

"I…" the black-haired man seemed to have difficulty getting the words out. "I did indeed know your parents… your mother quite well, as a matter of fact."

The ninja glanced at him strangely. _Were he and my mother old friends… did they used to have a relationship… what?_ "May I request a more sensible explanation?"

He received a small grin from his companion. "You must have inherited that from us-I mean, from Ivy."

_Who? _ "Ivy?"

"That was your mother," the Kenpo master informed him.

"Oh…" Kenji's eyes fell to the floor. _Then I guess Long **did** know my mother…_ "So how do you… Why do you know her?"

Over at the front of the house, Uriko walked out of her front door and shut it, proceeding down the porch. She scanned around for her fiancée, but upon spying Jane instead, she gently tapped the blonde-haired woman on the shoulder and greeted, "Hi, Jane. Have you seen Kenji around?"

A bit startled, the leopard zoanthrope quickly recovered from her surprise and smiled. "Hey, runt. Sorry, but he's a little busy right now."

"With what? I thought that he and I had plans…"

"Kenji's speaking with Long right now," she told the brown-haired female. "They should be done in a little bit."

"…? What does Master Long need to tell Kenji?" Uriko inquired curiously, glancing at the other woman's face carefully.

"I… am not really sure," Jane fibbed. "It's none of my business, so I didn't ask." _I don't need to ask… I already know._

"You… don't know?" The cat zoanthrope tilted her head slightly to one side, raising an eyebrow. "What could be so important that they need to talk in private?"

_Long should be the one to tell her himself…or Kenji._ The tomboy thought to herself._ But still… the runt kind of has a right to know…_ She said to the young woman nonchalantly, "Your guess is as good as mine."

Uriko regarded her silently. "I'm not accusing you of lying or anything, Jane, but I think that you know what their topic of discussion is…"

_Hrmp, she's pretty damn perceptive._ "Why do you presume that?"

The brown-haired girl eyed her carefully. "I…just have a really strong feeling that you do. If you know, can't you please tell me? I mean, I'd like to know about an important issue that involves my fiancé-"

Jane's eyes widened. "Excuse me…?"

"Oh, I mean, Kenji!" Uriko blushed fiercely, her gaze quickly darting away as she tried to cover her previous statement; "I-I misspoke…"

"You two are… engaged??" Her friend looked at her incredulously.

One hand went up to rest upon her cheek, burning from embarrassment. "I, uh… Um…"

Taking note of her immense flushing, Jane said gently to the other young woman, "I won't tell."

She coughed a laugh. "Heh, tell about what…?"

The cat zoanthrope received a knowing look from her friend. "Uriko…"

Giving up her cover, the Kenpo student sighed. "…Yeah, we are." Fingering the engagement ring tentatively, she hastily shot her hand behind her back, out of her companion's sight.

The blonde tomboy grinned and inquired in a joking tone of voice, "So he got you a ring, huh?"

Her face flushing a deeper shade of crimson, she managed a shaky smile and a small, quick nod. 

_Hmm, how sweet,_ A smile of her own touched Jane's lips. "You're not getting married anytime real soon… are you?"

Uriko shook her head. "No. We haven't really discussed the date or anything, but we agreed to wait a while."

"I assume that neither your mother or Alice know, right? Or any of the others?"

"Uh huh. You're the only one that found out."

"Hmm…"

The seventeen-year-old glanced at her friend, seeming a bit worried. "You're not going tell…"

Jane chuckled. "I promise I won't. I'll leave it up to you and Kenji to do the task."

She let out a sigh of relief. "Thanks, Jane…"

"It's not a problem, runt." The leopard zoanthrope replied, smiling as she used the nickname with fond affection.

"So, um… Can you please tell me what it is that Master Long is discussing with Kenji?" Uriko looked a little wistful.

_I don't know how I'm going to tell her…_ Jane thought with a frown. "If you promise to stay quiet…"

"Yeah?" the young woman asked hopefully.

"… …I'll go with you to the backyard. That way, you can hear for yourself…"

"Really? Thanks!" Smiling, the brown-haired girl gave her friend a hug before peering around the corner of her house in vast curiosity. _I wonder what all this is about…_

Starting to walk toward in the direction of the backyard, Jane let out a small sigh as she motioned for Uriko to follow her. _I hope that Long won't be too mad at me, if he should find out about this…_

*****

Appearing to be in another world about something, the tiger zoanthrope looked thoughtfully at the blue-haired ninja. "Do you remember having any siblings?"

Kenji shook his head, indicating his negative reply, temporarily distracted from his previous question. "From all I know, I was-or am, an only child. …What about you?"

"I… had just an older sister."

The male teenager smiled wryly. "That's more than what I had. I don't even know if I have any other relatives, such as cousins, aunts, or uncles. And I assume that my grandparents are… I mean, passed away."

_Trust me, you have more than that…_ Long thought wearily, then told his friend, "I received a brother-in-law when my sister got married."

"Really?" The younger man seemed to perk up and take interest at the mention of in-laws. "How did it feel, having a brother? Did you two get along?"

_Huh… I wonder why he is so delved into this topic?_ "It felt different, I suppose. Having a brother was a new experience; I'd never had one before. But as for getting along with him…" He paused to let his eyes dwell upon the ground. "No, unfortunately, we did not."

Kenji frowned slightly, a sympathetic meaning behind it. "Sorry to hear that."

"It's alright," the Kenpo master replied, a half-smile forming on his face. "It is good to see that you get along with Yugo."

"Yeah, well…" the ninja took on a far-off look in his eyes. "He's more than my 'brother'; he's also my caretaker. I feel like I owe a lot to him, rescuing and taking me out of the Tylon laboratory, then just adapting to a whole new world of responsibilities, bringing in a child to take care of…"

"You were… nine, right?"

He nodded. "Yes."

Long gave him a full smile. "Thankfully, things turned out for the best."

"Uh huh, with the exception of Busuzima… and Xion…" the mole zoanthrope's face expression hardened at the two names and his hand tightened into a fist. 

"I hope that later tonight, you'll be willing to let us know how you… encountered Xion."

Kenji forced a somewhat sadistic-looking grin. "…The last meeting was quite a show, huh."

His companion appeared pained. "Kenji…"

He shook his head firmly. "No, it's okay. I actually apologize if anyone thinks I deceived them, not telling about the discovery of my parents earlier."

An exasperated expression replaced Long's previous look. _No, no, he shouldn't be feeling guilty, I should!_ "No one should feel… obligated to tell others a secret that they'd rather keep to themselves…" _Hrmp, I should be one to talk about keeping secrets…_

"Uriko figured it out," the dark-haired ninja admitted. "Heh, she's very intelligent… Took one look at the photograph of a little boy and realized that it was a younger version of me."

"Perhaps my disciple knows you so well that she's memorized your features by heart," his companion joked lightheartedly.

He chuckled good-naturedly. "We _have_ known each other for over nine years…"

"Oh, really? That's quite a while."

"Yeah… ever since we were eight years old."

_We're getting really off-topic…_ The black-haired man cleared his throat. "If you don't mind me changing the subject…"

Kenji glanced at him. "What? Oh, go ahead, I don't mind. Speaking of a subject change, can I inquire about what happened to your sister and brother-in-law?"

"… …They have both passed away."

_Damn, stupid question!_ The ninja scolded himself silently. "Er, sorry for asking that…"

"That's not a problem; it's been almost eleven years now… for my sister, anyway…" Sounding a bit wistful, Long closed his eyes upon finishing his sentence.

_I wonder how they passed away… But I'm better off not asking._ "…Um…"

As if reading his mind, the Kenpo master informed, "…My sister died of illness. She had an incurable form of pancreatic cancer."

_Wow, that must have been hard on his family…_ The blue-haired teenager then asked somewhat stupidly, "…How come you're trusting me like this?"

"Well, why not?"

He flushed as he tried to explain, "It's just that I don't think we've ever interacted very much… I never thought that you would chose me to confide in about your family. You're not doing this out of pity or anything… are you?"

The tiger zoanthrope fixated his dark brown eyes on his ally. "No, of course not. I don't like pitying others, or having other pity me. Sympathy, compassion, I will offer, but not pity."

"Okay, that's good," Kenji grinned. "You've read my mind."

The other protagonist smiled. "ESP?"

"Hah, wouldn't that be freaky?" was his reply, followed by a soft chuckle. He became solemn as he asked timidly, "So, um, what happened to your brother-in-law after… after…"

"…After my sister's death?"

"Uh, yeah…"

"…He took on a better, more responsible attitude. He actually had the decency to take full custody of the child that he and my sister had propagated."

"Hey, that's a good thing; him behaving better." The ninja grinned, but discarded it quickly. "Wait, then… then what was the cause of his death?"

"…Murder."

Standing silently around the corner of the house, out of the two men's viewpoint, Uriko let out a small gasp at what her martial arts instructor had just said, then hastily covered her mouth with one hand. Her face set in a grim expression, Jane's lips thinned into a slit, feeling sympathetic for what Kenji was going to find out.

"W-What?" He hadn't expected a response like that.

A stormy look ignited in the Kenpo master's eyes and his facial features turned into a look of immense anger and deep resentment. "My brother-in-law was assassinated. By a weak-minded fool whom had their senses blinded by a hungered lust for power."

_That is intense… Hrmp, that assassin…what an atrocious thing to do._ The mole zoanthrope commented silently, a slight frown forming over his eyebrows. "Did you ever find that cold-hearted bastard?"

To his surprise, Long looked at him with a wry smile on his face, his fists clenched tightly together, dangling freely on both of his sides. "Funny you should ask that."

"H-huh?" Kenji raised an eyebrow in confusion. "Why?"

"Because… Right now… you are looking at that cold-hearted bastard," he confessed softly, sounding remorseful. "He stands before your eyes at this moment."

_Holy-! What the-!_ The ninja's eyes widened intensively. "What the hell are you talking about?! What do you mean?!"

"I… I was the one who killed him." His companion looked away. "Yes, the spouse of my own sister."

"M-Master…?" Uriko murmured softly, shocked by the admission. "H-how could that be…"

"You… I knew that you didn't like him, but to kill him…?" Subconsciously, her fiancé took a step back.

"Kenji…" Long continued. "Did you know that I used to be… an assassin?"

"I-I think I remember Yugo mentioning it to Alan sometime back when I was a few years younger, like ten. But I thought it was just a rumor or something…"

"I used to work for Tylon," Kenji was informed. "Starting around when I was nineteen. I finally stopped seven years after that, at twenty-six. But by then…"

"It was… too late?"

"Yes. By assignment from the Tylon Corporation, I had ended the lives of many others in the seven-year period…"

The dark-haired ninja's gaze fell to the ground. "I… was also sent out to hunt you all down and…and end your lives."

"You did that with reluctance… unwillingly." Long remarked sensibly. "Busuzima forced you to-"

"But I feel that I should have been able to fight it!" Kenji blurted out angrily, interrupting him. "Prevent all of that somehow! I mean, I was fourteen, not a mere five-year-old or something of the sort."

"That's true; however…" The tiger zoanthrope tapped the teenager on the shoulder, getting him to look up. "The influence of mind-control is powerful, very seductive in a way - although I'm not implying anything. Even strong-willed people can easily succumb to brainwashing… which will then leave them vulnerable to being mind-controlled."

"I… guess." He answered a bit uncertainly. "Still, I hope… I hope that wherever he is, your brother-in-law understands that you're not really a sardonic killer or anything, not like the way Fox was."

The Kenpo master sighed. "Hans was… misguided. He is still responsible for his own actions, but he shouldn't be detested."

"I suppose you're right," the mole zoanthrope said softly. "That's pretty admirable of you…"

"…Pardon? What is admirable?"

"That you seem to have the ability to find a good side to people," Kenji told him. "I bet you even have something nice to remark about Shenlong… despite what he did to you."

Appearing a little uncomfortable at the claim, Long said hesitantly, "Well, I cannot say that I hate him or anything of the sort… He was confused; his mind had been toyed with, provoked."

"Heh, I was right…" the ninja commented with a grin. "But if you say something positive about _Busuzima_, then I'm gonna ask Alice to have your head checked."

"Hmm, thanks for your moral support…" his friend kidded.

The younger man suddenly adapted a serious look on his face. "Hey… um, regarding your sister and brother-in-law's child… Whom would be your…niece or nephew, right?"

"Hrmp, although it sounds a bit peculiar… You are correct."

"What happened to him or her?"

_Well… this is it… _Long thought to himself, at the same time Jane that was thinking,_ Here comes the moment of truth…_

Noticing that the blonde-haired woman had a far-off look in her sky blue eyes, Uriko whispered, "What's wrong Jane?"

"You'll find out soon enough, runt…" was her solemn reply.

"It's a he, my… nephew, I guess you could refer to him as," the black-haired man said to Kenji. "He was taken away by Tylon the same night I assassinated his father. I…turned him into an orphan."

_Oh, man…_ "Where is he now?"

Not answering his question, the tiger zoanthrope stopped and glanced intently at Kenji, silently boring into the light brown pupils of his eyes. A chill shot down the ninja's spine at the intense look he was receiving and he repeated a bit shakily, "W-where is he now, Long…?"

"All I know is that he was artificially infused with zoanthrope abilities by lab technicians at Tylon shortly after he was brought in."

Kenji looked outraged. "What, they injected zoanthrope abilities to a-! How old was the kid??"

"Around six or seven years old."

"How utterly preposterous…" the corresponding teenager mumbled, clearly upset by the acknowledgment of the information.

"Yeah…" Unknown to him, Uriko mumbled in agreement, her large brown eyes filling with a combined emotion of sorrow and anger. "Like what Tylon did to Kenji and I when we were kids…"

"Didn't you try to, well, help the kid get out or anything like that?" her fiancé queried.

"I hate to admit it, but no," Long answered. "I was preoccupied with Tylon's other assassins when they decided to play 'cat and mouse' and hunt me down the day after I left the corporation."

"Huh, that must have been fun, being chased…" Kenji commented, his voice tinted with heavy sarcasm. "Did you ever find out what happened to the boy? I mean, up to now?"

He received a perceptive, yet peculiar look from his friend. "Actually, I found out several years ago…"

"Really?"

"Yes. The child was kept captive at the Tylon up until he was nine years old, when the corporation was destroyed, thanks to Yugo and Alan."

The ninja fell silent, a thoughtful expression overtaking his face. "What… what happened to the youth prisoners after the destruction? Did they all get sent to an orphanage?"

His companion grimaced slightly as he told him, "Those who were auspicious enough to survive the explosion…probably **were** sent to an orphanage. But that is just an assumption; it's not based on any proven facts. I found out a little later that he'd been rescued by… by another older zoanthrope who had searched the remaining premises of the Tylon ruins."

"Oh…"

"But one thing that perhaps may be of interest to you…" the tiger zoanthrope continued, his voice low and cautious-sounding. "I met up with him five years later."

The blue-haired teenager grinned. "That's good. So how was he?"

"The child, or at that time he should reasonably be referred to as a teenager, was having some… tribulation, I suppose you could say, at the time."

"How come?"

"Disinclined affiliation with the Zoanthrope Liberation Front."

Kenji's expression darkened at the mention of the organization and he responded with a simple, "I see."

"The key word there is disinclined," the Kenpo master notified quickly. "Don't think badly of him."

"Anyone asinine enough to get themselves entangled with the ZLF doesn't have my respect," the young man said firmly.

Slightly shaking his head in negativity, Long sighed, sounding a bit exasperated. "I keep telling you, desist from blaming yourself."

"…? Myself?" He glanced up in perplexity. "What do you mean by that…? I was talking about the boy."

His comrade stayed quiescent, avoiding eye contact.

_What does he mean…?_ The seventeen-year-old wondered, feeling a part of his memory nagging at the statement. _My…self…?_

As Kenji frowned and was just about to open his mouth and question him further, the something irked at his subconscious mind until the truth hit him in a sudden jolt of comprehension. "Wait-wait a minute - are you saying that… that _I'm_ the boy?"

When the dark-haired man didn't answer, the inquisitive ninja persisted with his question; "Are you saying that I'm the boy?? Answer me, damn it!"

Remarkably curious to hear the answer herself, the cat zoanthrope discreetly peeked her head around the corner to witness the response, just in time to see the slow, hesitant nod that was needed to confirm Kenji's inquiry.

****

The End


	18. Disbelieving The Precision

****

Bloody Roar III: Reunited by Chance, a Reflection of the Past

By Tiger5913

Chapter 18

Disbelieving The Precision

__

Anger, deception, confusion

Thoughts of that sort run through

His mind, blinding his senses, letting

Fury ignite to the surface; but will he

Make the effort to resolve the situation?

It took a moment for him to register what he had just unveiled.

**_I_** am that boy… the one that Long orphaned… Then that means my father is-or was, his brother-in-law… My mother… Ivy… his sister… Suddenly, another realization hit the seventeen-year-old zoanthrope. "You and I… we're related…?"

His companion again nodded his silent reply, his eyes nervously flickering upon the younger man's form.

_I… I can't believe this…_ "And you knew this for how long?? Ever since we met up again three years ago?!"

"No," Long told him firmly. "I did not realize it myself until you told all of us that your father was Adam Takiyo…"

"You knew since _then_?!" A sense of reason nagged at his conscience, telling Kenji that his friend hadn't had enough time to collect together his thoughts. He pushed it aside doggedly and continued, sounding a bit snide, "I suppose that I should be grateful you told me at all, right?"

_He is speaking out of anger…_ The Kenpo master winced at his low, angry tone of voice. "Kenji… I won't deny that I have no excuse for not telling you earlier…"

_B-but… Kenji was busy with… me…_ Uriko thought numbly, feeling a strong urge to defend her martial arts instructor from her fiancé's verbal assault. The young woman turned to peer at her other female compatriot, surprised to see an expression of shock on her face. _So Jane didn't know either…_

_Long is **related** to Kenji?_ The leopard zoanthrope blinked and shook her head rapidly. _Why didn't he inform me of that…?_

"Damn right you don't have an excuse," The blue-haired ninja scowled evenly, unsure of where all the pent-up rage was coming from.

"You're deeply angered with me." Long stated a bit bluntly. "I can understand."

Kenji turned away from him so that his face was out of view. Breathing heavily, the teenager subconsciously balled up his fists, clenching and unclenching them in a simultaneous rhythm; an infuriated glint was lurking in the depths of his light brown eyes. The tiger zoanthrope was about to speak again, when without warning, the young ninja made a lunge for him and grabbed one of his arms, holding it in a severely tight grip.

Although he had somewhat expected a reaction of the sort, given the situation, despite the fact that Kenji usually had a mild temper, the dark-haired instructor couldn't help grimacing slightly when the fingers wrapped around his forearm tightened as his companion decreased the space between them. He stood his ground, unafraid of what might happen to him.

"Why??" The mole zoanthrope questioned, his voice raising a little. "Long, how… how could you…"

_Does he know how often I have asked myself those very same questions?!_ "To be truly honest with you, I still do not know the answer to those questions."

His mouth set in a thin, firm line, the male teenager was unresponsive, but managed to maintain his stiff, silent posture.

"Are you pondering on whether or not you are going to hurt me?" Long asked him sensibly, his face looking neutral at the inquiry.

Again, the brown-eyed ninja didn't reply. After a seemingly endless moment passed between them without any verbal communication, Kenji's lips parted, appearing to want to speak, but instead, he released his death grip and slowly backed away. His friend peered at him curiously, wondering why he had let him go without further conversation. Before either of them could say anything, the mole zoanthrope turned his back and darted agilely away from him, going back around to the front of the house.

A couple of seconds post witnessing that, the Kenpo master sighed regretfully and started to follow the direction where the younger man had headed. He rounded the corner just in time to see his auburn-haired disciple disappear down the street after Kenji and the emotionless look on his girlfriend's face.

"Did you-" she choked up a bit on the words, but then regained her voice back. "Did you 'forget' to tell me something?"

__

Jane… she heard… "Jane, I…" he began to say weakly.

She cut him off. "We live in the same house… Couldn't you have found any time at all to tell me in the two-week period what you discovered about your relation with Kenji?"

His eyes looked pained. "I know that I should have-"

Jane half-turned away, avoiding his gaze. "I just wish that you had told me sooner… rather than I having to find out by escorting the runt here…"

"You-you _led_ Uriko over here??" The raven-haired zoanthrope let out a slightly frustrated sigh as he placed a hand on his forehead.

"I figured that Kenji would have told her anyway!" His girlfriend exclaimed her defense. "Engaged couples don't keep secrets **that** important from each other!"

An agitated expression appeared over Long's face. "I'm not angry or accusing you of interfering or anything like that! I am just-" He trailed off, suddenly hearing her last statement. "Wait a minute… Did you just say that those two are…?"

__

…Damn it, I promised Uriko that I wouldn't tell… The blonde-haired tomboy scowled at her blurt-out. "Forget you heard that."

"Uriko and Kenji are engaged?!" Her beau questioned, overlooking her request.

"You had better not mention that to anyone else!" She demanded, glaring at him sternly.

"You mean… neither Mitsuko, Alice, or Yugo know about them?"

"No." The twenty-three year old female admitted.

"But an engagement… That is a serious, life-changing matter-"

"Those two are both seventeen. I believe that they're old enough to make their own decisions without any of us meddling. We all know that Kenji weighs responsibility fairly heavily, and I'm sure some of that trait of his has rubbed off on the runt."

Her companion nodded a bit uncertainly. "…All right. I trust your judgement."

"I'm not sure how well I can trust you, though…" She sounded a little mournful.

"Jane…"

"Maybe I should go somewhere alone and think about this…" Jane continued, paying no heed to his murmur.

"May I suggest we, together, go somewhere and discuss this situation?" He pleaded softly.

"I… don't know…" she mumbled.

Long took a few steps toward her and tentatively placed a hand on her arm with heart-felt affection. "Please…"

"Long… Are there any other things you are keeping from me? Anything that is relatively important as this you and Kenji matter?"

"No," he told her firmly. "I have pretty much… bared myself to you."

__

That is not necessarily true… She argued silently. _I'm not positively sure that you…_ "So you say."

"I am not lying to you, Jane." He said softly. "Nor have I ever tried to do anything that would hurt you…"

"But… how can I be sure? I mean, I do not even know if you-" The blonde-haired woman stopped her sentence abruptly, preventing herself from revealing the rest. "Never mind."

"…What is it?" Her comrade asked her quietly.

"Forget it," Jane muttered, her voice leaving no room for further argument.

A twinkle appeared in the tiger zoanthrope's eye as he presumed what she was trying to say, and he slowly pulled her toward him. She allowed herself to be tugged close to him, resisting only when there were mere inches separating them. Smiling gently at her Long placed his free hand under her chin, applying slight pressure in an upward motion.

When the young female sighed and glanced up at him somewhat reluctantly, she swallowed back her gasp upon seeing the intensity lingering in his eyes. His dark brown pupils, hazy with emotion, searched her corresponding sky blue irises, communicating silently without verbal assistance. 

"Wua ie nee…" he said to her, his voice barely above a whisper, leaning toward her and placing a petal-soft kiss on her lips.

"W-what…?" Jane felt a bit baffled. "I… I think you have taught me that phrase, but I can't recall what it means… It's Chinese for… for…?"

Long swallowed, sounding a bit shaky as he translated his previous statement for her, "I said that… I-I love you…"

_He… he does…?_ "You-you do…?" she murmured her inquiry.

"Yes," her companion told her in a stronger tone of voice while the intensive look was still hovering in the depths of his eyes. "Jane… I know that I haven't told you before - although I definitely should have - but please don't be upset with me…"

Still feeling a little stunned; the leopard zoanthrope shook her head numbly in reply.

"I care… very deeply for you…" he continued softly.

When she didn't respond, just glanced up at him silently, he stepped foreword and descended toward her until their foreheads came into contact. Jane didn't object to their position, not even when the tip of their noses gently grazed against each other. The Kenpo master slowly slid his hands down to cover over both of hers, clasping the pair tightly, then bringing the sets up to place them on his chest, over his beating heart.

"I… I don't want to lose you…" Long whispered to her tenderly. "If you can, please forgive me…"

_H-how romantic of him…_ she thought, feeling her rough exterior begin to deteriorate. "You will not, trust me…" she said, finally finding her voice.

_Jane… ever-admirable… _"Thank you for your compassion," her boyfriend smiled weakly. "I just pray that I will have a chance to speak with Kenji again… We need to talk about our… relation."

The young woman looked thoughtful. "You know what… I think that it would best if we left here and went someplace for a little while. Give Kenji time to cool off; Uriko went after him, so she will probably help him calm down. We could come back later tonight, when all of us planned to meet and listen to Kenji tell us about Xion." She stopped momentarily and peered at her companion. "Perhaps then, you can try and get him to talk with you…"

"That is a commendable idea," the dark-haired man complimented her. "I agree with you; alright, we will come back later tonight."

The tomboy nodded, then retracted her hands from his chest, pulling away slightly and tugging in a certain direction. "Until that time comes… you and I have a few things to discuss amongst ourselves…"

He nodded solemnly back in reply, obediently staying silent as he let her lead the two of them toward her charted destination. 

*****

_"He was taken away by Tylon the same night I assassinated his father…"_ The sentence rang unconditionally in his mind.

Growling out loud in hostility, Kenji shook his head frantically, holding both sides with his hands.

_"I…turned him into an orphan…"_

Damn it! I don't want these reminders!! The angered teenager slid his palms to cover his ears, knowing full well that it wouldn't help.

__

"Long, how… how could you…"

His running slowing down to a paced jog, he grimaced upon realizing that he would never forget that conversation. Caught up in his thoughts, the young ninja was oblivious to the sound of the rough bottom soles of sneakers coming in contact with the sidewalk.

__

"To be truly honest with you, I still do not know the answer to those questions."

When he shakily took his hands off and came to a stop, he finally noticed the noise of footsteps approaching him. Whoever the other person was, the place where both of them had stopped was in the entrance of the park. The portion that had been burned down by Xion was presently closed off, but the rest was available to the public. 

Presuming that the figure behind him was the Kenpo master, Kenji whirled around, his eyes infuriated as he proceeded to yell, "Don't follow me, Long!!"

Startled by his loud exclaim, Uriko jerked back in surprise, her light brown eyes widening. "Kenji-! It-it's just me…"

Feeling guilty about shrieking at her accidentally, her fiancé looked at her apologetically and murmured, "Riko… Ugh, I'm sorry about screaming at you; I didn't mean it, really…"

"It's okay…" she replied, glancing at him with compassion on her face. "You must be kinda enraged to yell like that…"

"I just found out that I have a **living** blood relative," he began to say to her softly. "And instead of being ecstatic about it, I'm instead feeling quite the opposite…"

"You know, I can understand how you must feel," the brown-haired teenager assured him. "After all, you found out really abruptly, and didn't have time to prepare your reaction…"

Taking notice to a bench that was nearby them, Kenji headed for it immediately, motioning over his shoulder for Uriko to go along with him. Sighing in commiseration, she followed, waiting for him to take a seat before sitting down next to him.

She started the conversation by placing her hand over his, resting on one of his thighs, and asking softly, "Are you okay?"

He didn't answer for a minute, just fixated his eyes upon the stony gray concrete of the ground. The reply she finally received from him was, "You… heard us…?"

Uriko nodded a bit bashfully. "Yeah… You mad at me?"

Her fiancé shook his head slowly. "No. I don't really know how I feel right now, actually…"

"Uh…surprised?"

"I guess…"

"Betrayed…?" she continued questioning.

"Kind of."

"Upset?"

He merely nodded his answer.

"…Resentment?"

Kenji hesitated at that one. "Um… I'm not sure…"

"I know that Master Long shouldn't have kept that…issue…a secret from you," the female zoanthrope started to say timidly. "But… don't you think that the two of you should, like, sit down and talk about it at least?"

Her companion scowled, although not directing it at her. "You don't understand, Uriko. I've spent the majority of my life growing up wondering who my birth family was. Even though I considered Yugo as my brother, my family, there was still a part of me that was trying to seek out answers about my past life…" His eyes softened for a second, but then hardened into an irate expression. "At least… what I had left of one before Long took my father away."

"Kenji, I heard a large portion of your conversation, so I know about my Master not getting along with his brother-in-law before." The Kenpo student said. "Do you… do you remember when you told me about that time you were planning to kill yourself by setting aflame Busuzima's secret lab and getting… burned to death three years ago?"

The blue-haired ninja nodded. "I remember. It was a little while post the battle I had with Yugo… right after I had managed to knock out Busuzima and decided to destroy his lab to make up for what I had done to you all…"

Uriko looked at him meaningfully. "You were feeling really pressured by what you had realized of what had happened, huh?"

"Yes."

"And… after Alan and Yugo intercepted your attempted suicide, it took a while to fully register the information in your mind, right?"

"Uh huh…" _What… what is she getting at…?_

The young woman didn't say anything more, just tapped on his shoulder and gestured for him to turn his body around so that the couple was facing each other.

"…Oh. You're saying that I didn't give Long enough time to adjust to this…?"

She nodded.

"…And that I should grant him another chance or something?"

The seventeen-year-old female beamed, shyly adverting her eyes away as she said somewhat teasingly, "We're… going to have really intelligent children someday."

He blushed at that remark, remembering the blissful event that took place in the previous night. "I…will agree with you on that."

Pink flushed her cheeks. "So, um, will you give him another chance? Or at least try talking to him?"

Kenji appeared thoughtful. "…Alright. I'll do it…because **you** asked me to."

She grinned and kidded, "What if I told you to jump off a cliff?"

Her fiancé smiled back at her. "I'd say, 'Which one?'"

"Heehee, I'd hope not!" The Kenpo student squealed in protest.

After letting out a chuckle, his expression turned serious as he asked, "So… When do you think I should talk to Long?"

"How about tonight?" Uriko suggested decisively. "I mean, after you explain the Xion situation with us, of course."

"Well, of _course_, my dear, significant other…" the dark-haired ninja replied, a cute twinkle appearing in his eyes.

Her cheeks took on a darker shade of crimson but she managed to grin at him. "So… what do you want to do now? Are you up for a reunion with our friends?"

He nodded. "Definitely. I haven't seen them for a long time."

"Yeah, I know. I wonder how they're going to react to your return?"

"Uh, probably happy at first, then start bombarding me with questions afterwards…" Kenji looked a little exasperated at that remark.

"If our friends start to get too close, I'll fend them off for you, k?"

"All right."

"…I need to go back to my house and call them," the Kenpo student said slowly. "Do you want to come or stay here…?"

"I… think I'll stay here…" was the hesitant reply. "This _is_ where we're all going to meet, right?"

"Yeah, so you can stay. I'll be back in a little while," she told him softly, knowing full well what his real reason of staying there was. Meeting his eyes, she realized that he knew she understood. Smiling gently at him, the young woman hugged him briefly, then stood up and started for her home.

_I hope Master Long and Jane have left by now…_ she thought while walking down the sidewalk.

****

End Of Chapter 18


	19. Discarding Past Atrocities

****

Bloody Roar III: Reunited by Chance, a Reflection of the Past

By Tiger5913

Chapter 19

Discarding Past Atrocities

__

Post the discovery and expected

Reaction, another surprise awaits

All of the friends, the shape being in

An unlikely form, with painful past

Events tagged onto the figure.

"…So you hadn't really seen Bry-your nephew, very much before?"

"No. After my sister conceived…Bryan, Adam convinced her to let the three of them move to a better surrounding. In other words, out of her birth neighborhood."

The blonde-haired woman snorted disapprovingly. "That sounds terribly crude of him."

Sitting across from her in their booth, her beau paused to take a sip of Jasmine tea from his small white cup, letting the warm liquid slide soothingly down his throat before commenting, "I thought that as well. I don't know how he got Ivy to listen to him."

"Well… at least the moving issue would explain why you didn't recognize…Bryan…upon meeting him again three years ago," she remarked.

A wry smile quirked at the corners of his lips. "The idea of forgetting about one of my own blood relatives must sound rather preposterous to you."

"No, not really - given your situation," Jane assured him. "After all… I myself do not know who my birth parents are…"

"You look so much like Alan… I am astonished that the two of you aren't blood-related…" the Kenpo master informed her.

A distracted look appeared in her light blue eyes. "I want to inquire Father about that sometime… About my parents, that is. I need to ask if he knows anything about them at all."

"I hope that you will find information regarding your parents, Jane…" Long said solemnly. "Not knowing about your past… may have unease lingering in the back of your consciousness."

She closed her eyes for a moment, trying to force down the unease that was already lurking in her mind.

"Are you alright…?" came the gentle query.

Reopening her eyes, the leopard zoanthrope nodded slowly, allowing her gaze to meet his concerned dark brown pupils. "I am okay. Just a little dubious about my background."

"…I'm sorry for bringing it up."

Giving him a weak smile, she extended her arm to place her palm into his. "Don't worry about it." Her eyes widened slightly just then and her free hand slipped into her pocket to retrieve an object; "Oh, I forgot to give these back to you…"

After faintly spotting what was gently resting in the middle of her palm, the Kenpo master grinned at her and carefully picked up the pair of lenses. "Thank you for holding onto these for me. I was afraid my eyes were starting to familiarize themselves with the fuzzy setting."

Jane chuckled. "Everything appeared disoriented to you?"

"Heh, a bit," he replied, putting on the glasses. "But I'm glad that I can see well again… And of course… seeing you clearly is definitely something I feel contented by."

She flushed slightly. "Thanks…"

"…Jane, what do you suppose happened to Bry-" her boyfriend paused momentarily. "You know what… I am going to refer to him as Kenji. He also did request me to use that alias at the very beginning of our previous conversation."

The blonde-haired woman nodded her agreement.

"Well, to finish what I was saying, what do you suppose happened to Kenji that had him encounter Xion?"

"I'm not sure. But we all know by now that the results were **far** from positive…" The couple exchanged a look of grimace.

"Preying on the young… Toying with their consciousness and forcing them to question themselves and the people around…" Long frowned in distaste. "The works of a true mind-manipulator."

"Actually, something else has been disturbing me lately…" his girlfriend began to say albeit hesitantly, looking at him carefully.

"What?"

Her expression was vastly serious. "Long, it's about… your clone."

His face darkened slightly at the mention, but he said quietly, "All right… continue…"

"I… don't understand how we were able to be in combat that other night if, according to you, he had killed himself three years ago…" she appeared a bit doubtful.

The tiger zoanthrope seemed as mystified as she was on the subject. "I do not understand ether… He…annihilated himself before me… I saw him do so… and even felt his blood come into contact my skin…" His face changed to a look of sorrow, his eyes filling with pain at the memory.

"Do you think that Busuzima could have made another clone of you?" Jane questioned sensibly.

Her compatriot shook his head. "It's a possibility… but I sincerely doubt it. Why would he want to go through all of the trouble a second time?"

"Good point," She sighed. "I am really curious about where Shenlong's body disappeared to… A dead corpse cannot just get up and walk away."

_A dead being roaming around amongst the living… What a disturbing concept…_ Long shuddered slightly at the thought and his gaze traveled elsewhere. "I… would rather not think about it-" Just then, he trailed off abruptly, his eyes widening in shock at something over her shoulder. A bit alarmed at his expression, his girlfriend turned around in her seat to see what he was looking at.

Her eyes fell upon two figures standing at the entrance of the teahouse that the couple was currently sitting in. Even though both of the newcomers had their backs turned, she could make out that the barely noticeable shorter one was female and that her companion was male. The woman had ebony black hair that was waist-length, and it was tied in a ponytail with a red band that irked at the leopard zoanthrope with a sense of familiarity. Her outfit of a dark blue sweatshirt and navy pants didn't conjure up any recollection.

The other person had his hand linked with the woman's, and his long, raven-colored hair was in a tight braid; that nagged at Jane's subconscious mind as well. She especially took note of his cyan-colored top that had red and gold Chinese designs on the back, but looked past the black jeans covering his lower body.

When the blonde tomboy was about to turn back to her companion and question him what was wrong; she suddenly sensed the smell of a zoanthrope nearby. Her eyes hastily scanned the area while she wondered why she hadn't noticed the scent earlier. Just then, Jane realized who the zoanthrope was, it had to be one or both of the two people that just walked into the teahouse.

Feeling a bit relieved after figuring that out, she looked at her boyfriend and whispered to him, "Long, it's okay. I think that one or both of the people that just came in are zoanthropes."

"But… You don't understand…" he murmured, sounding a bit strained. "I can sense **him**…"

_What does he mean by 'him'…?_ Confused by his statement, she took a second look at the newcomers and caught a glimpse of the man's face when he briefly turned to glance at the woman next to him.

His facial features were the exact replica of Long's.

The realization hit her in a startling jolt. "Wait… it can't be…"

"Shenlong…" The Kenpo master muttered in confirmation, an inkling of dislike lingering in his voice.

As if he had heard his name be called out or on cue, Shenlong turned toward their direction, while his female companion was conversing with a nearby waiter about getting seated, oblivious to the other happenings. He looked around the large room in curiosity, his gaze coincidentally falling upon the table that Long and Jane were sitting in. His eyes met the other man's and he jerked back in surprise, slightly alarming his partner.

His mouth set in a firm line and his expression otherwise emotionless, Long stood up stiffly and started walking toward his double, who was gallantly standing his ground. Spying the predicament, his girlfriend immediately got out of her seat, following right behind him. Upon reaching the other couple, he wordlessly grabbed a firm hold of Shenlong's arm and jerked him out the door, making the woman shriek. As soon as the two men went outside, the leopard zoanthrope turned to console the lone female that was left.

"Shawn!!" The black-haired woman called out, starting to head toward the door.

_Shawn…?_ Jane got in front of her and held up her hands, blocking the way. "Excuse me, mam, I advise you to allow those two a little time to themselves-"

"…Ms. Gado? Is that you?"

"…?" The leopard zoanthrope peered more closely. "Danielle-um, Doctor Kaysley!"

The female physician gave her a tight smile in reply, then tried to get a look outside. "I'm not on duty right now, so call me Danielle, please. But Ms. Gado… would you mind telling me what Mr. Shin is doing with my b-I mean, Shawn?"

_Wait a minute… Shenlong is her **what**?!_ "…Shawn?" Jane questioned.

"Yes, he is outside with Mr. Shin right now…"

"Um, your…Shawn…is an old… I guess you could say, acquaintance of Mr. S-er, Long's." The leopard zoanthrope wrinkled her nose in distaste, feeling strange about referring to Shenlong with that alias.

"…Really?" Danielle appeared dubious. "But he yanked Shawn out of here quite roughly… I thought those two were old rivals or something."

_I suppose you could put it that way…_ her accomplice thought wryly. Out loud, she said, "Why don't we go and sit down at my table? We can wait there until those two are finished."

"Well, if I won't be too much of a bother…"

"No problem," she replied quickly, then grinned. "You **did** help the runt, after all."

The young doctor looked a little confused. "Pardon?"

"Oh, sorry, I was talking about Uriko - or, as you call her, Ms. Nonomura," Jane explained. _She's going to be Mrs. Takiyo someday; heh… or Ohgami, depending on what name Kenji is going to choose to go as…_

Her companion laughed softly. "My apologies, I'm still a bit dazed from what just happened with Shawn and your… boyfriend? Or is he your fiancé?"

_Fiancé?? Long and I getting engaged like the runt and Kenji…?_ The blonde-haired woman flushed a little at the thought. "He and I have been together for almost three years, but we're not engaged or anything like that." _Yeah, we're just living with each other also…_

"Almost three years, congratulations!" the black-haired doctor exclaimed, smiling warmly. "You two must really love each other."

She blushed a little more deeply. "Well… Long is really compassionate and sweet toward me…"

"How cute!" Danielle commented. "I hope Shawn and I will be like that someday."

_Is she serious?_ Jane wondered in disbelief. _I thought Shenlong was a cold-hearted jerk…_ "Come on, let's go sit down."

"All right."

_This is… very intriguing…_ _Shenlong having a romantic interest… _The leopard zoanthrope thought silently as the two women walked away from the entrance and headed for the table. _But…does she know about his past and who he really is…?_

*****

The minute they were outside Long tugged the other man over around a corner to a side of the teahouse, trying to seem inconspicuous to any onlookers that were nearby. Paying no heed to the resistance of his captive, he scanned the area, and upon seeing that no one was around, he released his grip, instantly backing away as if the contact had burned him.

"Tell me, right now, what the _hell_ is going on," he demanded evenly. "I tire of feeling direly bewildered over these things."

"Calm down-" his clone began to say. _He must be incredulously upset if he is using vulgarity…_

The Kenpo master's eyes flashed in anger atop the agitation that was already hovering in them. "What do you mean, 'calm down'?! Three years ago, I watched you decease right before my eyes; the night Jane and I fought against you, I felt no pulse afterward our battle and I presumed that you were dead. Now, you walk into that teahouse with some female accomplice, appearing fully revitalized and perfectly animate!"

"I'm sorry that you're disappointed with me being alive," Shenlong said dryly, casting his companion a look that was tinted with sarcasm. "But if you would just please be sedated for a moment and let me get a word in edgewise-!"

Grumbling irritably under his breath Long reluctantly obliged and regarded his twin discreetly. "Fine. But answer me this first: who is that woman you were with? Are you preying on innocent human bystanders now as well?"

An expression of slight remorse flickered over the other man's face. "Her name is Danielle and she is a… very close friend of mine. I am residing at her home."

_Danielle…?_ The original tiger zoanthrope thought as a small frown formed over his face. "That sounds rather familiar…" he mumbled quietly to himself.

"She is a zoanthrope like us, Long," his clone continued. "Danielle can defend herself from me if it were necessary. But she would not have to do that, because I would never hurt her of my free will."

"…How do I know that the things you are speaking are the truth? How can I be sure that you are not just fibbing?" came the immediate retort.

His twin turned to look him in the eye. "Because, if you don't realize it, you know me."

_What nonsense._ "We… may share physical appearances, but the line is drawn there-" The Kenpo master trailed off as he glanced at Shenlong and noticed the color of his eyes. The former blood-red irises were no longer there, and instead, a hazy shade of misty green had replaced them. The trait change somewhat discarded the once-hostile aura that emitted from his form, and now had him appear more congenial. "What… what happened to your eyes?"

"Contacts. I really did not liked my old eye color - Busuzima had chosen the maroon shade for me."

"…Interesting," Long commented quietly. "Why did you not choose brown or something of the sort?"

"Because I don't want to steal your identity."

"That is rather ironic, you know," was the awry remark.

"…I never asked for my life to come into existence this way," Shenlong informed him, sounding a bit resentful. "I do take responsibility for the hazardous events occurring three years ago, even though I wasn't fully aware of what was happening."

His compatriot hesitated, seeming perplexed. "…Why this sudden attitude change? You are… acting immensely different from three years ago with the Zoanthrope Liberation Front affiliation… and that other night as well…"

"That ninja zoanthrope ally of yours wasn't the only one entangled in the mind-controlling situation," he notified.

"I presume that you are talking about Kenji, not Bakuryu, by the 'ninja' reference, right?"

"Yes."

"…So Busuzima used the mind-controlling effects on you also…" Long realized, his voice portraying sympathy.

"That's correct."

"And the other night…?"

"You can thank Xion for that." Shenlong remarked coolly, a fire of anger igniting in his eyes at the name. "Apparently, it seems Bryan and I are popular targets. Of course, I feel **really** flattered about that." His tone had an obvious note of sarcasm in it.

_…We all misjudged him, then._ "… …I apologize."

"…? What for?"

"I misdeemed you. We all assumed the worse without really finding out the truth." The Kenpo master admitted with a sigh.

"It's alright. Under the circumstances of the time a couple years ago, your presumptions were understandable."

_He has changed a lot indeed. It seems as if he is a completely different person…_ "I still feel a bit amazed at your newly refined personality and attitude."

"Well, hopefully, these changes of mine are for the better." His twin gave him a small, timid grin. "My own encounter with Xion has gotten me to see things in a different prospective."

"So you are connected to him also…" Long trailed off, looking thoughtful. "I wonder if you would know more about him than Kenji… There is a meeting tonight in which he will strive to explain to us what happened between him and Xion."

"I know _some_ things, but not a lot. I'm not sure if my information will conflict with the ninja's or not."

"Perhaps you should come to the meeting," the Kenpo master suggested a bit hesitantly, seeming somewhat unsure.

His companion gave him a wry smile. "How would the others react to the sight of me, especially given my background?"

"I am hoping that Jane will help me explain the situation to them…"

"What situation?"

The two men met each other's eyes. "That we have reached a tolerable understanding of one another."

His double nodded. "Fine with me."

"So we agree on a truce?" Long proposed, extending his hand, looking at the other tiger sincerely.

"Truce." Was the mutual agreement. The green-eyed zoanthrope clasped his own hand with his compatriot and bowed slightly in courtesy.

"…You know, I think we should proceed back inside to the teahouse…" the Kenpo master said, sounding a little abashed as he continued with, "I'm afraid that I was being quite impolite in abruptly yanking you away from your Danielle accomplice…"

"Perhaps it _was_ a bit discourteous of you, but it was for a good reason," Shenlong remarked sensibly.

As the two allies began walking back around to the entrance, Long suddenly thought of something. "Does Danielle know about your… status? As in, how you… came into existence?"

"She knows that I was…cloned…but she isn't informed of whom the original is."

"If she takes a good look at the two of us, I doubt it would be hard to figure out…" he sighed.

Reaching the double doors that led into the facility, his twin encircled his fingers around the handle to push open the door, but then looked back at his companion and told him, "Oh, by the way, I go by a different alias now…"

"…Really? What do you prefer to be called?"

"Shawn. Shawn Le."

Upon hearing the name change, Long nodded and gave him a small smile of approval. "I think that will be a fresh new start for all of us… Shawn."

****

End of Chapter 19


	20. Revealing The Unknown

Special dedication: Flyby, Niteflite, LazzyQ, Alica, StarryPeach, and everyone else who has been reviewing almost every single chapter of this story; I love you all, my friends. 

****

Author's Note: I apologize deeply for the delay, caused by certain issues that arose lately (some of you are acknowledged of what I am referring to). I hope you readers understand, and I'll try to be more prompt in getting out the future chapters, 'kay? Thank you for being patient with me; I really appreciate it. Enjoy this chapter, and please leave feedback. J

****

Bloody Roar III: Reunited by Chance, a Reflection of the Past

By Tiger5913

Chapter 20

Revealing The Unknown

__

An alliance is formed, curiosities

Are sated; doubts hanging in

The back of minds slowly diminish

As the truth is unveiled; though one 

Problem remains… striving to be solved.

"Grrr, how could leave us hanging like that for so long!!"

Kenji fought back a grin as one of his friends held up her fist threateningly at him, yet still in a playful manner.

"Hey, go easy on Kenji…" the boyfriend of the prosecutor said. "You gotta leave some for me."

Uriko laughed merrily as she watched sixteen-year-old female friend step up to the dark-haired ninja and grab his arms, twisting them behind his back. Leaning against the light blue bench that she was sitting upon, she cast her fiancé a lazy smile as she watched him squirm in silent protest.

"Okay, Curt! You can hit him first!" Chrysta Roberts called out with a chuckle, holding her captive against the thick trunk of a tree, his cheek grazing the hard brown bark. The five-foot and six-inched tall girl with shoulder-length black hair and deep brown eyes glanced at her beau with a teasing smile. Still the tomboy of the close group of friends just as years before, she was also the youngest of them and the only senior. Her companions didn't treat her any differently, although she was the lone remaining high school student, whereas the others had all graduated weeks before.

"H-Hey! Um, a little here, Uriko?" The mole zoanthrope spoke up with a smile when Curt Holser started toward him with two other figures behind. At two inches taller than his girlfriend, he gave Kenji a sly smile and absentmindedly ran a hand through his thick black hair. Although he was seventeen years old just like most of the others, he was a few months their senior, making him the oldest in the group.

"Sorry sweetheart, you're on your own!" She replied with a gleeful giggle. "You're a big boy now, Kenji! You can take care of yourself!"

"B-but I'm only t'ree years old…" he said in a childish tone of voice, grinning at the auburn-haired teenage girl.

She chuckled. "Hey Erika, Ryan, be a _little_ merciful, k?"

Her best friend grinned, her chocolate brown hair blowing freely in the wind, a teasing glint in her wide green eyes. "Don't worry, I bet that Chrysta, Curt, or Ryan are gonna do most of the pounding!"

"Hey Uriko!" Ryan Scheller called to the cat zoanthrope. "You can chill; we won't hurt your lover-boy **too** much!"

"What, and I don't get a say in this?!" Kenji exclaimed in mock outrage.

"Nope!" The youngest member of their group chimed in. "You left all your friends - not to mention poor Uriko -" the ebony-haired Asian female glanced at the Kenpo student with a sympathetic grin on her face. "-For almost three years! You had us all worried sick!"

The engaged couple exchanged a secret, knowing look. "Um, it's okay Chrysta, really… He already let me know why he was gone so long…"

"Why-" Curt began to question, but then was cut off by his girlfriend. "I bet it's a private _couples_-thing, Curt," she interrupted him with a wink, to the two zoanthropes' relief. "Let's buy them after they recover from their reunion!"

_Whew, I'm saved… For now, anyway… _The blue-haired ninja inwardly sighed, then effortlessly slipped out of Chrysta's imprisonment. "Hey-!" she shrieked in protest. Her former captive laughed and darted off further into the depths of the park that the six teenagers were in. "Heh, you'd better catch me if you want to attempt to beat me up!"

Grinning in response to his challenge, Uriko yelled back, "I'm already working on it!" She immediately darted after him, calling over her shoulder, "Come on everyone, let's get him!!"

Willingly obliging, her friends followed her lead, shouting mock threats to Kenji as they ran under the clear blue sky, surrounded by the serene environment.

*****

"Oh, admit it! We got you good!" was the giddy initiation.

"Only because you caught up and tackled me to the ground while waiting for the others!"  
The brown-haired teenager smiled sweetly at him. "Your point being…?"

"In case this fact has slipped your mind, my dear Riko," Kenji drawled tantalizingly, gazing at her with affection, "You're faster than I am, so that's kind of a disadvantage for me…"

Her smile grew wider as she stopped their strolling and wrapped her arms around his muscular figure in a warm embrace. "You and I have almost the same speed…" she said softly into his ear. "Let's not dwell on such small indifferences…"

"Easy for you to say," he replied with a grin. "But okay."

Growing silent, Uriko turned her face away from him and glanced down the sidewalk in which the couple had been walking upon. Her light brown eyes settling on her house a few yards away, she reverted her attention up to the darkness of the sky. Breathing in the cool air of the night, she remarked softly, "It must be about eight right now… or later…"

"Yeah, I think you're right," her fiancé agreed.

"Kenji…"

"Hmm?"

"Are you… ready to tell us about… you know…"

The seventeen-year-old male nodded, albeit hesitantly. "Yes… At least, I hope so…"

"Whatever happened on that trip, don't be faltered by it, okay…?" she requested quietly, meeting his eyes, concern in her light brown pupils. "Just remember that I'm here to support you… I won't leave you or anything…"

"Thank you, Riko…" he said, hugging her tightly. "I won't forget…"

The Kenpo student gave him a small smile as she positioned herself by his side, and gently urged him to continue walking toward her home, his arm slung around her waist. Upon reaching the front porch outside of the house, she felt him stiffen involuntarily and she whispered, "Let's go… We'll face this together, don't worry…"

Taking in a deep nervous breath, the young ninja nodded in silent reply and the couple slowly made their way up the steps.

*****

"Where are those two? They're late…"

Sitting down Indian style on the floor, Alice shivered from the cool chill of the wind blowing in from outside, looking up at her 'mother' questioningly after briefly glancing at the open door.

"I'm not sure where they are," Mitsuko began. "But I know they left early this morning."

"Teenagers," Yugo scuffed half-jokingly. "Can't rely on them."

"You were once a teenager yourself," Alan stated matter-of-factly as his wife chuckled softly. "So I suppose you are saying that we shouldn't rely on you either?"

Flushing slightly, the brown-haired boxer opened his mouth to counter that, when a voice cut through; "Heh, hey brother, are you dissing us?"

The small group turned their attentions to the doorway, where the young couple was standing. Grinning a bit wryly at his older sibling, Kenji said, "Can't rely on us, huh?"

"Aww, we're wounded…" his fiancée joked gaily, smiling at her friends. "Sorry to keep you all waiting… We were at the park with some friends, and got into a chasing game, so we kind of lost track of time."

"Who was the target?" Jenny inquired.

Her smile widened. "Kenji."

"That must have been an _easy_ target," Yugo chimed in, snickering.

The dark-haired ninja groaned. "It was me against five people… Besides, **someone** there had more speed than I did…" he nudged Uriko, who blushed.

Alice smiled gently. "Well, I'm glad you two enjoyed yourselves… Um, are you feeling up to talking tonight, Ken-I'm sorry-Bryan?"

A slight frown formed over his brows as he nodded a bit stiffly, tugging gently on the Kenpo student's hand and leading her over to sit before their group of compatriots. "If you don't mind…" he started to say quietly. "I'd appreciate it if everyone continues to call me Kenji. I've grown up for almost nine years on that name; it would feel weird to be suddenly referred by something different…"

The nurse looked a little embarrassed. "Sorry…"

He shook his head. "No, it's okay. I just wanted to let everyone know."

Yugo gave his younger brother a half-smile, relief glimmering in his eyes as he said, "I'm glad you decided to stick with Kenji… but are you going to make it a legal name change? …Or keep Bryan Takiyo?"

The mole zoanthrope shifted uncomfortably, his abashed gaze falling to the floor. "I… I don't really know… I'm not sure yet…"

_Darn that trip…_ Uriko cursed silently. _It got Kenji to be confused and unsure of himself…_ "You sure you want to tell us the Xion information tonight…?" Her look of concern settled on his eyes.

"…Yeah." He replied softly. "I don't want to put it off any longer…"

"…Hold on," Alan spoke up, glancing around the room. "We are missing my daughter and Long."

_Huh… I wonder where did they go after… this morning._ Kenji thought, trying to seem nonchalant as he shrugged and remarked, "I guess we can wait for them…" _Wait for Jane and… and… most likely my last living blood relative…_ His face scrunched up at the title.

Noticing the slight twinge of tension in his mood, the cat zoanthrope glanced at him furtively, her large chocolate brown eyes gleaming with compassion. "Hang in there…" she whispered softly to him, giving his hand a firm but gentle squeeze.

"…" He looked at her briefly, an emotionless expression on his face before turning to the others, asking a bit rhetorically. "…Any idea of where the two of them are?"

"I am not very acknowledged of Jane's freelanced events," Alan answered. "The same goes for Long."

_Where is my Master…?_ The Kenpo student wondered. _Haven't seen him or Jane ever since… this morning…_ She shot the dark-haired ninja a knowing look. A soft knock on the opened door aroused the group from their mystification. "…Sorry to keep everyone waiting."

Standing a few feet away, seeming a bit tentative, Jane flashed her compatriots an apologetic smile while her boyfriend stood nearby, hand linked together with hers. The two of them covered the doorway, leaving no space to view the happenings behind them. Long quickly glanced back over his shoulder, as if keeping an eye out for something, before turning to the group and saying, "My apologies as well."

"Hi you two," Alice greeted. "It's alright about the delay; come on in and sit down. Kenji is about to tell us the events of his 'trip'."

The couple at the doorway looked at each other, communicating silently with their eyes. "…About that," the raven-haired zoanthrope started, "This morning, I… invited someone, I suppose you could say, to join us for this meeting tonight…"

Kenji raised an eyebrow. …_Someone outside of our group? Why the hell would I want to let any random people know about my connection with Xion…?_ "…Mind if I inquire whom?"

"Is it anyone that we know?" Uriko questioned.

Her martial arts instructor glanced at her intently. "…Yes. Everyone here tonight does, perhaps all too well…" _Sorry Shawn… with all due respect…_

"It's alright; I understand…" a hushed voice assured him from behind, as if reading his mind. He nodded slightly in reply.

A bit mystified, Alice asked, "Really? Who?"

"Now, as a precaution…" Jane raised up her free hand. "Everyone… Just trust us in this decision to bring him here… alright?" _Long, I trust you… but I really hope that you know what you're doing…_

The others nodded, unspoken hesitation lingering overhead in the room. Taking in a deep breath, Long stepped aside, gently tugging his girlfriend over to him as the person behind them ascended toward the doorway. His hazy eyes shone with a bit of unease and anxiety as he cautiously extended his head into the room, peering nervously at the group of zoanthropes.

_I wonder who it is…_ Uriko tilted her head to one side in curiosity at the tall figure with long raven hair. A more careful inspection had something nagging in her mind, crying out recognition… but she felt unsure. Fixating on his face, she took note of a familiar glint in his misty green pupils.

__

…Huh, I feel like I should know that person… she thought to herself. All of a sudden realizing who the man was, she received her answer, her eyes widened in surprise while her mouth went dry. "I-it's you…!" She managed to say, her voice quivering a bit.

__

'You'? Kenji shot her a curious look and whispered, "…Who is it, Riko?"

"Sh-Shenlong…!" the brown-haired teenager answered shakily.

Hearing her, Yugo's frown turned into an expression of shock. "What?! Who did you just say??" His attention adverted to the newcomer with narrowed eyes.

The ninja jerked back slightly. "…Huh??"

__

…Please don't overreact, everyone… Long pleaded silently.

Watching as the others turned to look at him, their reactions turning into shock upon recognition; Shenlong cringed inwardly, his composture wavering slightly. _Now they know…_ he thought to himself. _What are they going to do…?_

The mood quickly faded as Uriko shot up from her seat, startling her fiancé as she released his hand. Anger replacing her previous state, red beginning to flash before her eyes, she shuddered before proceeding to the clone, her hands clenching into fists as she stalked over to him. "You…!!"

Sensing the predicament, Kenji stood as well, quickly following her lead. _…Shit, it **is** Shenlong!_ He realized upon closer conduct, his own eyes narrowing while fury started to bubble up inside him. "ZLF scum!" He hissed angrily.

_I presumed this would happen,_ Long grimaced and took a step toward the two teenagers. "Hold on a minute-"

"Master, stay back!" His disciple exclaimed, moving to stand in between him and his double.

"Hey, wait-" Jane tried to put a word in, but was cut off by Kenji glaring Shenlong coolly; "What have you done to our friends?! You better not have harmed them!"

The cat zoanthrope growled under her breath, fixating her gaze on the intruder. _I can't believe he's in my house!!_ She briefly adverted her attention to sneak a look at her mother, cringing at the nervous expression on her face; Alice proceeded over to Mitsuko, placing her hands on her shoulders comfortingly. _Mother…_

"What the hell are you doing here?!" The blue-haired ninja inquired shrilly as his body tensed up, his internal fighting instincts trying to escape and be released. But somehow, a feeling inside told him to hold off and allow his opponent to explain himself before initiating combat.

"Please desist," The Kenpo master requested, glancing at his student and her fiancé a bit pleadingly. "Everybody, do not be alarmed-"

"Don't be alarmed?! Are you feeling alright, Long??" Yugo spoke up in defense of his younger brother, getting to his feet.

"Get out of here!!" Alice shrieked at the newcomer, looking at her 'mother' with concern lingering in her dark red pupils.

"You guys-" The leopard zoanthrope began to seem a little impatient as she attempted to inform her friends.

Her father and Jenny arose from their seats as well, following the examples of the others; tension ignited in the room. "Your presence is not welcomed here, and I am sure you are acknowledged of the reason behind it!" Alan stated bluntly.

"Everyone! Stop it, **now**!!" Long finally resorting to shouting, throwing down his hands for emphasis, and letting go of Jane's. Hearing the volume of his voice, the group quickly turned their surprised attentions to him in slight awe, since they were used to his mild tone. His cheeks flushed a bit at the observance. "…I apologize for yelling, but this is beginning to get out of hand. Please, relax. I will explain Shaw-I mean, Shenlong's involvement."

"Involvement indeed," Kenji muttered coldly, fury glimmering in the depths of his light brown eyes. "Assisting a good-for-nothing pervert in terrorizing and hurting others of his own kind! That's pretty damn disrespectful, to yourself, and to those you brought pain and suffering to!" The rest of the group seemed a bit dubious after hearing his words; even Long and Jane stayed silent.

_If this is some kind of joke, it is not funny…_ His fiancée thought to herself, her clenched fist quivering slightly. She peered at the blonde-haired tomboy standing a few feet away from her, and as she caught the small glint of earnest truth in her sky blue irises, the fire of anger inside her slowly began to diminish. "…Alright."

The young ninja opened his mouth to continue, but stopped when he heard her speak up. "…What?"

"Jane, Master Long, please explain this to us…" Uriko said softly. "I would like to hear why you two decided to bring…him…here." _I'm sure it was a good reason… I trust them…_

"Uriko… Are you serious…?" Kenji felt a bit taken back by her revelation. _Did she forget what he and Busuzima did to all of us?_

"I believe in their judgement…" she murmured to him in reply, turning to meet his eyes. "We should give them a chance to explain."

_…Riko…_ He nodded slowly, uncertainty in his mood. "Maybe you're right…" _I hope this isn't a big mistake, tr-trusting **him**…_

Even with that thought in mind, he back away albeit tediously to descend to the carpeted floor across from the three standing near the door, motioning for the Kenpo student to follow him. His dark blue bangs fell into his face, hiding the indecisive expression he had, and his eyes flickered upon Shenlong suspiciously. _If he tries anything…_

"Everyone…?" The brown-haired teenager glanced at her friends in silent plea. Still seeming reasonably dubious, they all cautiously regained their previous sitting positions, with the exception of the trio still stationed at the entrance of the house. After seeing her friends complete their tasks, she looked to her Kenpo instructor and his girlfriend, asking quietly, "Can you please explain…?" _I hope I'm not being naïve and foolish to give him a… a chance…_

"…I didn't harm your friends, and I give you my word on that." Shenlong started to say, his voice a notch above audible.

"Maybe not tonight anyway…" the mole zoanthrope mumbled.

"_Kenji_," His female companion hissed. "Please… don't do that…"

He obeyed with reluctance, folding her hand into his in silent reply.

"I was the one whom invited him here," Long informed the group. "Don't turn to him for accusation; blame me if you wish to."

"Just please hear us out first," Jane chimed in, shooting her father a knowing look. "All right?"

When no objections were made, although the atmosphere in the room was still tense and filled with anxiety, her beau continued; "He is not completely at fault for what happened almost three years ago-"

"I hold myself responsible for it." His twin cut him off and glanced at him apologetically for interrupting. "Nothing can excuse anyone from… the acts that I had committed…"

"Darn right about that…" Alice murmured quietly, turning away and adverting her attention to her mother.

Long's expression was serious. "…Kenji."

A bit surprised at his name being called, he raised an eyebrow slightly. "…Yes?"

"What happened to you… what Busuzima did with the brainwashing and mind-control… He performed those to Shenlong as well."

_Huh??_ "What?!" His brows knit together into a frown and his eyes narrowed. "What are you talking about??"

"I was one of his… specimen," the clone confessed. "But I am not condoning myself or anything of the sort. However, I felt that you all had a right to know about… that."

_I share something in common with that… that monster…?_ Kenji blinked in disbelief and bewilderment. "You-you must be jesting…"

"It's probably hard to believe… I know I don't deserve your trust, but that is the truth." The verdant-eyed zoanthrope insisted gently. "The terrorizing… fighting… harming… I did not do those of complete free will…"

"…You were misguided. Mislead, deceived." Alan spoke up, the stony look in his pupils reducing a little.

Surprised at receiving the paltry sense of consideration, Shenlong nodded, his feeling of uncertainty beginning to decrease. "Yes, I suppose you could put it that way…"

"…Why were you involved with Xion?" Kenji shot at him instantly, his tone unwavering. "Why did you help him fight against us?"

"How is it possible that you are still alive?" Jenny questioned sensibly.

"…" The newcomer turned around to close the door gently and lean against it, crossing his arms loosely over his chest. "I had not yet deceased when Busuzima found me three years ago…" A look of distaste was in his irises at the mention of the name, similar to the one that was forming in Kenji's. "But the second time…" he shut his eyes. "**She** was the one who rescued me."

"…?" Alice took attention to his soft murmur. "Who…?"

"…Danni."

_What… we don't know anyone by that name…_ "Excuse me?"

"…We all know her as Doctor Kaysley," Long cleared up for his compatriots, glancing away as the nurse looked at his double incredulously, while the others dubbed equally surprised expressions on their faces.

****

End of Chapter 20


	21. Gliding Over Rough Surfaces

****

Author's Note: I kept my promise… right? I thank all of my readers who believe in me, and I hope that you'll like this chapter. A small warning: chapter 22 will have scenes that include a bit of sexual content. Please do not degrade or flame me for putting those kinds of settings in, but constructive criticism is welcome.

Special dedication: PokeDigi, Flyby, Niteflite, LazzyQ, Alica, StarryPeach, and of course, my other loyal readers who has been reviewing almost every single chapter of this story. I appreciate all the feedback that you receive and I thank you all for that. If not for your encouragement, this story might have been cut a bit short, but thanks to you, my fanfiction has far exceeded my pre-story expectations. This has definitely been the longest story by far, that I have ever written by myself. Your spirits and support are with me and I will cherish them gratefully.

****

Bloody Roar III: Reunited by Chance, a Reflection of the Past

By Tiger5913

Chapter 21

Gliding Over Rough Surfaces

__

Another situation resolves and the

Dimmed light brightens a bit as the 

Stronghold and support of the group

Heightens; but one issue still remains

Lost memories of a long-forgotten relative.

"What? Danielle?!" The rabbit zoanthrope exclaimed, as shock was registering on her face. "My hospital colleague??" The raven-haired man cringed slightly at her tone of voice.

_Sis… chill…_ her younger sibling pleaded silently, although she herself felt a little astonished.

"How in the world is she involved with **you**?!" The twenty-five year old continued, beginning to sound shrill as Mitsuko glanced at her eldest daughter sympathetically.

"The other night, after we…" Shenlong gestured at himself, then at the Kenpo master and his girlfriend. "…Had fought, the two of them had left on presumption that I'd already perished. I was barely holding onto my consciousness from the battle, so I'm not acknowledged of how much time had passed before she - Danni - had come across me." He let out a sigh at the mention, slight distress in his attitude. "I am not sure how she managed to get my seemingly lifeless body out of the park, but when I was aroused back to awareness, I found myself surrounded by sterile white walls of a hospital room. My injuries were treated and bandaged, so I was on sluggish path back to recovery."

"She helped you…?" Alice inquired, doubt still lingering in her expression.

"I'm assuming reasonably that Danni was the one who tended to me, for she was the first person I saw after awakening," he replied as a slightly glazed look came over his eyes. "…In the midst of all the darkness in the nightly atmosphere as well as in my situation, a heavenly aurora seemed to shine from her, single-handedly holding off the malicious jests that were gnawing at me. It was as if the aura surrounding Danni was proclaiming her an angel of benevolence and mercy."

_Angel of benevolence and mercy… Sounds pretty heartfelt and a bit poetic even,_ Kenji thought to himself. _Hrmp… but can we still really trust him…?_ "…You know, I think I want to believe you, but still…"

"I wonder why she never told me about this…" the cyan-haired nurse murmured, feeling mystified. _Danielle wouldn't keep such an important secret from me…_ "Are you lying to us…?"

The clone shook his head firmly, his voice serious and convincing as he said to them, "As I mentioned before, I know that all this is probably hard to comprehend and assimilate… but I **am** speaking the truth. I… will everyone decide for themselves what they are going to believe… and I'll understand whatever outcome is chosen." _If not forgiveness… just accepting is gratifying enough…_

Silence fell in the room at that proposal. Indecision and ponderous thinking sauntered in the environment, unspoken conversations passing between the small group with single looks. Each brief glance showed the unease and bewilderment conflicting on the older, authoritarian zoanthropes' faces. Jenny placed a hand on her husband's arm, getting his attention; he saw the resolution in her eyes and nodded slightly.

He peered at the brown-haired boxer, who turned to his girlfriend for her decision. Catching her doubtful expression, he shrugged at Alan in reply. Sitting on the ground near her fiancé, the seventeen-year-old female let out a sigh under her breath, and Kenji slipped an arm around her slender waist comfortingly. The young ninja shot a look of irritation at Shenlong, but didn't asseverate anything verbally.

Breaking the solemn mood, Long approached his twin somewhat tentatively, and felt his hand being gently squeezed reassuringly as the blonde-haired tomboy fell into step with him. He glanced at her briefly and saw the small smile on her face, the support for him and trust that was glimmering in depths of her light blue eyes. Smiling back at her, he turned to face his double, albeit more confidence in his mood as he said, "…I will not hold anything against you. I consider you an ally now, instead of foe."

"As do I," Jane spoke up in agreement.

"In this world that we live in, the situations that we are forced to endure at times, unfortunately has mind-manipulation and the possession of the will seem like a reasonable issue." The tiger zoanthrope continued, this time directing his statements to the rest of the group. "Because there are beings who will unmercifully commit evil acts of those kind, never caring of the outcome or the others that he or she may harm in the process, innocent bystanders constrained to become involved might end up doing so, but against their will.

"But even if any one of us succumbs," His gaze flickered concisely upon his disciple, her older sister, and the blue-haired ninja. "…Or _have_ succumbed, to the brainwashing and seductive mind-control influence, it is not because of 'weak' proclivity or anything of the sort. The true reason behind it would be that of the concern for our friends, relatives, and other loved ones."

The others turned to look at Long, taking in his words and conjectures to mind, listening intently and waiting for him to conclude.

"Those, in a sense, are our 'weaknesses', because the feelings we carry inside are strong enough to impact us effectively. And those are the things that procurers strive to find so that they can attempt to make us become undone, and in hopes that in the midst of our confusion, try to trifle with our minds. I believe that is how those like the former employees of Tylon, Busuzima, and Xion operate in their process of manipulation."

The bat zoanthrope chuckled softly at her husband. "What a son-in-law he will be, don't you think?" Alan grinned wryly and nodded in agreement while the Kenpo master and his female companion both flushed at what the couple had been conversing about. 

"_Fa-ther…!_" Jane protested, her cheeks splaying with a light shade of pink.

"…So that's what happened…?" A quiet murmur came from Kenji, the thoughtful look on his face slowly twisting into one of perplexity. "But I… I thought I was weak-minded…"

"Kenji…?" the cat zoanthrope said gently, her voice warm and soothing, although she was feeling slightly puzzled. "What do you mean by that…?"

His stormy brown eyes met hers shakily. "X-Xion… What he did… All the mind-control that I have prevailed… I had always thought that I succumbed to all of them because I was weak-minded…"

Her facial features softened into a simper of tenderness and commiseration, her pupils glistening with heartfelt compassion. "Kenji… No, you're not…"

Yugo's expression tightened defensively. "You, weak-minded? Not a bloody chance in hell."

"I can't really even recall exactly how I got affiliated with Xion…" the blue-haired ninja mumbled. "I first encountered him a little while before I turned sixteen… But I don't have a very strong, reliable recollection of what led to my conceding of his mind-control influence right now…

"The things I remember the most vividly were the charismatic scoffing and ostensibly periods of mental quandaries… The endless moments where confusion and distrust ran through my mind; the undeviating feeling that contaminated my heart and persuaded me to turn against everyone…" The hand that he had slunk around Uriko's waist was trembling as he finished speaking.

"Oh, gosh…" her lips began to quiver slightly while a deep pang of persecution struck her heart. "Kenji…" Squeezing her eyes shut as tears formed and threatened to flow, she wrapped her arms around his muscular form, embracing him tightly. One of her hand went to shakily rest against the rear of the base of his neck, and the other stayed splayed across his back. _I… I'm so sorry… I wish you never had to go through all that…_

The wolf zoanthrope peered at his younger brother intently, his own expression appearing melancholy and oppressive. "…You don't need to tell us anymore, Kenji. Whatever happened to you, the outcome wasn't good, the perpetrator was an indisputable jackass, and what does matter is that you are back to yourself now."

Glancing up at the others, the seventeen-year-old muttered albeit blankly. "No one minds not being acknowledged of the events that occurred three years ago…?"

Uriko was the first to assure him; she shook her head firmly and whispered softly into his ear, "You're back with us… That's all I care about…"

Her martial arts instructor cast a look at his nephew, inwardly cringing as a feeling of guilt seeped into his mind. _I should have taken care of him after Adam-… Should have watched over him… kept him safe and shield all this pain that he has suffered…_ His eyes became a little misty and he blinked away the remoteness that inhabited his vision. Culpability gnawed at his conscience and he grimaced at the emotion.

Clearing his throat, Alan's voice sliced through the thick tension that was hovering in the room; "…Shenlong."

Hearing his name, the green-eyed zoanthrope perked up. "Yes?"

"What happened to you since Busuzima reanimated you three years ago?"

Briefly glancing at the dark-haired ninja and his fiancée, he hesitated a little before answering; "…We went into hiding for a period of time. Busuzima often moved from place to place with a few of his other zoanthrope followers and I. The only duties he assigned us were to go out and find more of our kind to try and recruit them into our little 'group'.

"…But one day," Shenlong's pupils flickered upon Kenji, who had his back turned and was still in the loving embrace of the Kenpo student. "One of the members saw your-or rather our, ninja compatriot boarding a train and bidding farewell to the younger Nonomura daughter. Of course, Busuzima became interested in that, for he still valued the fighting techniques and skills of the ninja. He ordered all of us to come along with him as he proceeded to follow and track him down."

"You may refer to me by name…" the mole zoanthrope mumbled, his voice barely audible.

"…Alright." The clone nodded. "Thank you… Br-I mean, Kenji. Well, Busuzima, a couple others, and I trailed you to the capital. We watched you rent an overnight room at a hotel, and surveyed your trip to records at the library."

He turned to address the others. "However… A middle-aged woman led Kenji astray shortly after he left the archive. None of us were able to locate where they went; their destination must have been quite furtive and stealthy."

The blue-haired ninja decided to input, maintaining his position, arms encircling Uriko's soft and curvy waist. "…She brought me to a secret room in the library, where zoanthrope records were hidden away. I found out my true background and heritage that way. I'd also photocopied everyone's files and somehow managed to bring them back here with me."

"Oh… really?" The twin seemed to be a bit awed by the newly found information. "Hidden zoanthrope files…?" _I wonder how frequently those are updated…_

"…Yeah. I was pretty damn surprised myself upon discovering them," Kenji admitted. "But I was there; they were real. …What did you and…**him** do while I was gone, reading the files…?"

"Busuzima became impatient after waiting a while - we all probably know how he is - and made us leave with him, then later on told everyone to roam the capital for other possible zoanthrope recruits. He also had a couple of his followers… violate Kenji's privacy by breaking into his overnight room and ransack through his belongings."

The seventeen-year-old's eyes widened. "So that's why I found my things misplaced and thrown around the room that afternoon… I'd thought that a nosey maid had searched my possessions, trying to see if there was anything worth stealing…" _Good thing I had taken the ring everywhere with me…_

Shenlong shifted uncomfortably. "…No, I'm afraid we were responsible for that. I apologize to you for that, Kenji…"

"…That's alright," was the solemn reply. "I don't think that you were directly involved in the process… at least, I hope you weren't."

He shook his head. "I wasn't, I can assure you of that."

"So how did you… that limp-wristed bastard…and the others encounter Xion?" Yugo questioned, finally managing to advert his eyes to focus on the speaker.

The rest of the group snickered at the label that was tagged onto the eccentric scientist before the other tiger zoanthrope started informing the others, "A few days after the ransacking incident, one of our more significant members disappeared all of a sudden. Upon noticing her absence, Busuzima dispatched a couple of people to find out what happened to her. She wasn't found, at least not to my knowledge, but I do not know of her present status right now."

"What was her…relation…to that disgusting old pervert?" Uriko inquired, smirking slightly at the thought of the reptile zoanthrope being involved with other females.

"Second-in-command," he informed her and her friends. "Busuzima kept Rane nearby him. Sometimes, he would act somewhat 'affectionate', in his strange way, toward her and although she usually returned it, you could tell that it was most-likely form from obligation or something equivalent of the sort."

"What a surprise," Yugo remarked dryly, sarcasm in his voice.

"I suppose that this Rane person meant something to him?" The mole zoanthrope frowned slightly. "She was smart to leave. Busuzima only likes using people. He plays with them like they are his toys, then they get discarded whenever he is bored of them."

His fiancée nodded in agreement. "Yeah, I know what you mean…"

Fury and resentment flashed in depth of his light brown eyes. "I-hate-being-used…" he strained through clenched teeth, his hand quivering with emotion.

_Talking to him tonight about what happened earlier would probably not be a wise decision…_ Long thought to himself. _Anyone can tell that Kenji is still haunted by the events that occurred in his past; hopefully, Uriko will be able to help him somehow… _Out loud, he suggested, "…Um, perhaps we should call it a night now, everyone…?"

"I coincide with that idea." Alan said. "Maybe we can meet another time. Mademoiselle Mitsuko, is that all right with you?"

The boar zoanthrope nodded. "Yes, please inform us of when you are planning for the next meeting to take place. I'm sure that everyone would want to attend."

"How about three days from now?" Alice connoted. "I have to help a beginner nurse and train him, so I will be busy for the next couple of days. Is that okay with you all?"

Her friends motioned their covenant and those sitting down tediously began standing up, preparing to take their leave. Straightening from his position at the door, Shenlong inquired a bit tentatively, "Ahem… I was mediating, am I permitted to come here?"

"…" No one in the group answered; they all turned to look at Mitsuko.

"I… I am sorry about the act that I committed three years ago, Miss Nonomura," he apologized, seeming ashamed of what he had done in the past. 

She demurred for a moment. "…Yes. As long as you can be as civilized as you were tonight." A small wry smile formed on her face.

"You have my word." He said solemnly.

"…Alright then," she answered. "Hope to see you at the next meet."

_Mother…_ Uriko grinned at her mother proudly. _So forgiving…_

The others adapted looks of ease on their faces and sighed in relief as they all started for the door.

"Good night everyone," Alan nodded at his compatriots in farewell as he and his wife departed from the house; after chorusing the same thing, his daughter and the Kenpo master trailed not too far behind the older couple.

"Come on Ally," Yugo linked one of his hands with his girlfriend, then flushed slightly when he realized the nickname had slipped out.

A half-smile formed over Kenji's lips. "Isn't that sweet of you, brother…"

His sibling scrunched up his face while the dark-haired nurse answered for him good-naturedly, "Hey, I could say the same for you and my little sister, you know…"

The cat zoanthrope blushed. "Al-ice…!"

"…Um, Mitsuko?" Her fiancé started to speak up. "I don't want to impose on you again, but I was wondering if I could…"

She smiled warmly. "Of course you may spend the night. The guestroom is always open to you."

_Uh, yeah… although I didn't reside there last night…_ he coughed dryly. "Thanks, I appreciate it."

The boxer raised an eyebrow and teased, "You love her that much, huh?"

Unresponsive, the young couple ducked their heads in unison, both feeling embarrassed.

"Aw, I was just kidding with you," Yugo chuckled. "But don't forget that you have the high school exit exam to take tomorrow, Kenji."

The blue-haired ninja nodded. "Okay, thanks for the reminder."

"See you all later," Alice waved to the trio as she and her boyfriend stepped outside of the Nonomura residence, gently closing the door behind them.

"Sleep well, you two," Mitsuko smiled at the couple and proceeded out of the living room, going up the stairs to her room.

A slight glimmer of an unreadable emotion hovered in the back of the Kenpo student's chocolate brown eyes. "Well, I guess we should probably be going to sleep now… It's almost eleven, and with that test tomorrow…"

His fiancé glanced at her meaningfully, sleep clearly not in his present thoughts. "I'm… not sure I can slumber right now." _There are too many things on my mind - all that I found out tonight…_ "I suppose that I could try, though…"

She smiled faintly at him. "Good luck… I hope that you'll be able to go to sleep, Kenji." 

Hugging him tightly, she pecked him gently on the cheek and followed her mother's trail. Silently watching her figure jog up the stairs, Kenji maintained his still posture, looking after her disappearing form with a slightly mournful look in his eyes. The pain he had been storing up inside suddenly seeped out of him in a rush, un-shamefully etching across his facial features. A broken sob choked itself out of his throat and he squeezed his eyelids shut, trying to fight back the heavy emotions that were threatening to overtake him.

"Riko…" he murmured into the soundless room, his hands instinctively going to clutch the sleeves of his own arms in a defensive motion.

****

End Of Chapter 21


	22. Displaying The Insight And Emotions

Special dedication: Xion, PokeDigi, LazzyQ, Alica, Deoku, VGuyver, Flyby, Niteflite, and all my other devoted readers.

****

Bloody Roar III: Reunited by Chance, a Reflection of the Past

By Tiger5913

Chapter 22

Displaying The Insight And Emotions 

__

The night ends on a bitter note

Confusion and sorrow running

Through, occupying his mind

She shares his feelings; confiding

In each other will help their atonement.

_Damn it…_

The rustling of blankets and restless turning filled the serene atmosphere, overlapping the quietness that was previously asset. Strands of dark colored hair lay sprawled across the soft white pillow, cotton material teasing the tensed muscles of the neck's base. The warm heat of the night weather swiveled around the figure that was lying down on the firm mattress, picking at the flimsiness of the sleepwear. Starting to feel rather torrid, the bed shifted a bit as the form sat up, small sweat beads of prosperity glistening on their forehead. Glancing at the darkened surroundings through hazy brown eyes, the person abandoned the previous resting position and crossed the distance of the room to reach a dresser on the other side.

_I can't sleep… _A pair of hands pulled open one of the drawers and searched blindly through the contents for an item. _Maybe I should do what I usually do…_

A tiny smile of triumph formed over air-moistened lips as fingers brushed against a familiar fluffy object. Yanking it out, the figure crept out of the room and walked quietly down the obscure hallway, eyelids blinking open and shut at the haziness of the setting. Shadows flirted with the beige surface of the walls, crooked shapes beckoning as if they wanted a victim to become entrapped in their hold.

_I wonder how late it is… past midnight, probably…?_ A dim glow emitted from the eyes at the thought, and the towel was wrapped protectively around her upper body. Clutching the edges, she let out a sigh of relief as the bottom of the stairs approached her vision. _I'm glad that Mother doesn't know of this…_

Descending to the first floor of the house, she furtively made her way through the living room, then latched one hand onto a handle and tugged the glass door open quietly. Her eyes searching the area before carefully shutting it behind her, she strolled down the smooth concrete path of the backyard barefoot, her soft skin glistening under the blanket of the bright stars overhead.

She slowed her pace upon glimpsing the sight of shimmering turquoise water a few feet in front of her. Waves in the liquid swayed by the breezy force of the wind as her fuzzy reflection bounced off the surface. Shivering slightly from the cool chill of the weather, she unraveled the towel from her figure and folded it neatly, setting the object at the poolside. Unbuttoning her pajama top, she shrugged out of the article of clothing, letting it slick soundlessly to the floor.

Now clad in her thin sleeveless undershirt and cyan boxers, her exposed skin quivered and she tried to ignore it, focusing her light brown eyes on the contents of the pool. The young woman crouched down to knee-level and reached out a hand to allow her fingertips to glide through the water, reveling in the surprisingly warm feel. A shaky sigh escaping her lips, she raised both arms straight up above her head, her eyelids shutting to a close, and glided effortlessly into the pool, a silent splash the only noise that lingered in the air.

_I can't believe this… Shenlong, an ally now…_

Her legs moved in a rhythmic motion, letting her body flow gently through the water as strands of her silky auburn-colored hair trickled into motion with the waves. A small smile of joyance formed over her lips at the delicate feeling of the liquid encircling her slender form.

_Poor Kenji, getting carelessly tortured by Xion… God, the cruelty of that unmerciful man…_

A resentful frown woefully replaced her smile and her eyes cautiously blinked open as the aquatic color of the pool filled her vision.

_I wish there were something I could do for him… Help ease his pain somehow…_

Air bubbles emitted out from her tender lips, floating through the wet environment and rising up to the oxygen-filled atmosphere.

_I hope that there's something I could do for you, Kenji… If there **is** anything, please let me know… I feel really prosperous to have you…_

Her feet pushing off of the cold stony bottom, her body ascended and her back lay atop the water as she surfaced. She sighed breathlessly, a feeling of serenity pervading her mind, her gaze looking up to the dark night sky. The bright stars flickered and winked, their soft laughter being carried along through the breezy wind. Her thoughts withered as she sought to relax, enjoying the tranquility of her surroundings.

_Enticing elegance, graceful movements like a delicate sea-maiden… The true essence of beauty emitting from within…_

The pair of eyes observing her attractive figure followed her motions, a dreamy look forming over the comely facial features.

_You probably could have chosen anyone… I bet that one guy a couple weeks ago would've felt so damn lucky to be your boyfriend… So if I hadn't shown up, he probably would be glad that there wasn't someone to interfere…_

The newcomer moved stealthy down the path, slicking through the winding shadows of the night, approaching the cat zoanthrope swimming in the water as if drawn to her. Light brown irises fixated onto her form, attention staying on her as quiet footsteps trotted foreword. A smile appeared over the set of tan-beige lips, dark blue bangs whisking freely through the breezy zephyr.

"I thought cats were supposed to dislike water," he commented loud enough to be heard, his tone of voice soft and sedated-sounding.

Her eyes shot open and her position wavered a bit as she straightened, her feet once again touching the bottom. "…?" Shaking her head free of her previous dream-like stance, she squinted, trying to let the tiny wet drops trickle away from her eyes. "Kenji…?"

A small smile formed over his lips and he continued walking toward her a bit timidly. "Hey Riko…"

"What are you doing up so late…?" Uriko inquired, bashfully hiding herself in the water, purposely allowing her long auburn hair to fall over her upper body.

"I could ask you the same…" The young ninja replied, stopping by the side of the pool, and crouching down into a sitting position.

"…I couldn't sleep," she confessed, her gaze falling upon the turquoise liquid that enclosed around her figure. "There was too much occupying my mind; I needed to go somewhere and think. Whenever I get that feeling, I just come out here and go swimming, thus allowing my thoughts to run freely." 

"I get that feeling quite often myself…" Kenji told her, his hand descending to the water and his fingers grazing against the surface. "Only… I don't really have a place like this to go to for my brooding. I usually just laid in bed and let my thinking flow that way."

"You can always talk to me," the Kenpo student assured him. "I'm here to listen."

He nodded in silent reply. "I know. It's just that… I'm not sure you can stand hearing all my… grieving."

Her expression softened, compassion glimmering her in light brown pupils. "Don't say that, Kenji… I'd actually be honored that you would want to share your feelings with me."

"…Why was I even born…" the mole zoanthrope murmured, closing his eyes as a sigh escaped his lips. "Was it just to… experience these obstacles…? Witness a couple of life's true definitions of cruelty?" His voice sounded pained. "Sometimes, I just don't see what is the point of my life… what the point of living is…"

A hurt look appeared over her face. "Don't… don't think those things…" _If he tries to kill himself again…_

"I don't want to think those things, Riko…" he mumbled a little mournfully. "But I… I can't help it sometimes…" _God, I hope I won't be driven to the point of suicide again… I would never forgive myself if I hurt Riko that badly…_

"Don't cut your lifeline short," she pleaded. "Life is worth living, trust me… Even though it throws obstacles at us sometimes…"

"…I hate my obstacles." Kenji seethed; true anger could be detected in his attitude. "Being manipulated, controlled like a mindless puppet on strings…" _Tylon, Busuzima, Xion…_

"…I just despise the source of all those things," his fiancée remarked. "Like Tylon, Busuzima, Xion…" she sighed. "Damn those cruel, heartless beings… They're all scum."

"I wouldn't be that nice," he said dryly. "But yeah, you're right about the 'cruel' and 'heartless' parts."

"You know… sometimes, I wonder what happened to the other people that endured what we went through…" Her expression grew thoughtful. "I hope they all made it and are doing well…"

"I'd like to think that too," the blue-haired ninja replied. "But…" He trailed off.

She knew what he meant and nodded solemnly. "Well… Then bless their souls."

"…I guess we're really lucky," He slowly opened his eyes and met her gaze. "To have escaped safely, and made it this far even with all the things that we'd had to face."

Uriko smiled softly at him as she glided through the water to close the distance between them, wet strands of her hair clinging to her skin. "Now _that_ is definitely the better way of seeing things…" 

"…Who knows where I would be if it weren't for that project of yours," her companion started to say, slight smirk forming over his lips. "If you hadn't been so persistent… if I hadn't been brought out of my stubborn, thick-headed shell… and realized how stupid I was acting toward you."

She grinned and replied lightheartedly, "I'm glad that you were so dogged… That had really shot up my determination and motive. I mean, I pretty much just flat-out refused to believe that you thought yourself unable to love someone and that added fuel to the fire…"

"You proved me wrong." The mole zoanthrope remarked, looking at her intensively. "I thank you for doing that."

"The outcome was good." The young woman smiled, placing a slightly wet hand on his arm. The shirt that he adorned was unbuttoned, and the sides were blowing open from the force of the breeze. Catching an up-close glimpse of his bare muscular chest, she flushed slightly; his dark green shorts shifted as he turned to look at her. "Geez… er, don't you feel cold only wearing that, Kenji?"

"Um… not really," he assured her, fighting back the urge to shiver. "What about you? How's the water?"

She grimaced. "Well… you don't really notice the temperature after the numbness kicks in…"

"…Come on out, Riko." The seventeen-year-old male insisted, rising to his feet and grasping her towel in one hand. "I don't want your circulation to freeze and stop running or anything like that happening…"

At the mention of the chilly weather, Uriko shivered uncontrollably, nodding slightly in agreement as she placed both of her hands on the edge-side of the pool and proceeded to lift herself out of the water. Cringing as the cold breeze of the wind brushed by her wet body, a look of unease formed over her facial features. Smiling faintly at her, Kenji set the towel down and descended toward her, grabbing a firm hold of her arms. Carefully, he assisted her in getting out and as she stepped onto the stony ground, she shuddered from the coolness.

"Ugh, I-I guess I did stay there a bit too long…" she murmured regretfully, her face tightening into a scowl. "D-damn it…"

"I kind of kept you in there…" He glanced at her apologetically. "Sorry about that…"

She winced, still shivering as she slowly bent down to pick up the towel and wrap it around her waist, starting to head back toward her house. "It's okay… Not your fault at all."

Raising an eyebrow in concern, the dark-haired ninja quickly caught up to her, slipping off his shirt and hastily wrapping it around her shoulders. Reveling in the warmth that was emitting from his body heat, the cat zoanthrope turned her face to look at him as he strolled beside her, concern in her expression. "Hey, I don't want **you** to freeze to death…" Just then, she stumbled and cursed under her breath as she shakily stood back up.

"Okay, you were definitely in the water too long, Uriko." Her companion said. _She really shouldn't be walking back in this freezing weather… Hope she won't be mad if I…_

Facing her side, he stopped her with a gentle tap of her shoulder; she glanced at him questioningly, letting out a quiet shriek of surprise as she felt one of his hands snake under the sensitive insteps of her knees. Holding the brown-haired teenager's legs firmly, her fiancé placed his other hand near her neck to support, and lifted her body up, gathering her figure into his arms. Barely recovering from his action, she managed to keep a grip on his shirt and her towel as she rose into the air.

"Kenji, what are you-!"

"Nu uh, no protesting," He shook his head at her for emphasis. 

"But… I'm not an invalid…"

A small grin formed over his lips. "Of course you're not. I just want to help, is all, since I'm partially responsible."

She smiled weakly back at him, encircling her arms around his neck as she gazed warmly into his eyes. "You're too sweet, I swear…"

"Th-thanks… You're really sweet too, Riko." The couple exchanged a knowing look.

The young ninja's dark blue bangs bounced and swiveled slightly around his forehead as he walked toward the backyard doors that lead into her house, stepping down the dark path cautiously. Hoisting her up, more tightly securing her light-weighted body to his hold, he used the hand that had been tucked under neck to reach for the handle and pull back the heavy glass door. Breezing by inside, he turned back to close it, then strolled over to the stairs, ascending to each higher step slowly.

Reaching the top, the mole zoanthrope crossed through the hallway and went into his fiancée's room. Hanging onto him, she felt her eyes lowering to flicker upon his chest, and her cheeks flushed a shade of carnation pink at the sight of his smooth hard muscles. Adverting her attention elsewhere, she ducked her head, letting her long auburn hair fall over and cover her face. _He's so cute…_ she thought to herself, blushing a bit more deeply.

Hearing the soft sigh that escaped her lips, Kenji glanced down at her in curiosity and questioned, "…Something wrong?"

"H-huh? Oh, no… I'm all right, thanks…" she answered quietly.

Shrugging in reply, he gently descended her onto the mattress when they arrived at her bed, sliding out his arms from underneath her body. Looking up and smiling gratefully at him, the Kenpo student curled into a protective ball, shivering as she clutched the edge of her thick soft comforter tightly. Chuckling quietly, her accomplice reached for the ivory white comforter and covered it over her slender form while gently easing her down to the bedstead.

"No…" She raised a hand at the blanket, motioning for him to stop. "It's warm enough now that I'm indoors… But thank you for being concerned."

He smiled, care for her shining in his eyes. "You're welcome, Riko. I just want to make sure you're okay."

Uriko giggled delightfully. "Teehee, I can't believe you carried me inside…"_ He's pretty strong… Geez, I wonder how he got to be so muscular…?_

The dark-haired ninja blushed, glancing away albeit bashfully as he settled down on the mattress, sitting next to her. His hand went to intertwine with hers and their eyes met as he said softly, "Well, I suppose it's good practice… I'll be carrying you again more times in the future…"

She ducked her head shyly and replied, "Yeah, I guess so…"

Looking at her with an intense gaze in his light tan irises, he placed his free hand under her chin and gently tipped it up so that he could see her chocolate brown pupils; he whispered his inquiry, "How did I get so lucky in life, hmm…? I mean, with all the events that happened in my childhood and continuing on, knowing all that, the way things are right now suits me fine."

"Everyone has their own individual problems to overcome," the cat zoanthrope started to answer, letting her other hand travel upward to cup his cheek. "I think that depending on how you handle those situations is how you somewhat control the outcome… You did a good job with your obstacles, Kenji, so that's probably why things are presently going well for you. It's balancing out."

He nodded in agreement. "I guess so. I'm glad to possess what I have right now: supportive friends, reliable allies, …relatives, and…" _The promise of a future with a certain significant other…_

"It's good that you value all those," She smiled gently. "…Hm, and what…?"

Kenji didn't respond verbally; just smiled shakily before leaning toward her and meeting her lips with his. A fluttery feeling forming in her chest, she found her answer in his kiss, and a soft sigh escaped from her. As his arms went to encircle around her slender waist, she timidly allowed one of her hands to settle upon his solid chest, slowly beginning an exploration. Uriko caught her breath when her fingers grazed across an unusual crevice, and she gently retracted her head a little, glancing down at where a thin, lengthy wicked scar was etched into his muscles. She traced it, brushing against the injury, her touch soft and feather-like; he fought back a groan.

"When… when did you get this…?" she inquired in a concerned whisper.

The seventeen-year-old male looked at her, unease and discomfort in his eyes. "…Xion. Once, a couple of years ago, I failed one of my assignments and as punishment, he lashed out at me with-…" He trailed off, turning his face away.

"With what…?" she persisted, gaze still on his scar.

"…A whip." The young ninja answered finally, shutting his eyes in shame. "Like… like what I did to you…"

She was a bit startled upon finding out. "O-Oh…"

"…I-I'm so sorry about that," he continued. "Riko, deep down inside a part of me was screaming to stop hurting you, b-but…"

Hearing the pain in his voice, an achy feeling formed in the Kenpo student's heart, silently crying out to him. "I understand, Kenji. Really, I do… It wasn't your fault; it's all right…"

"No, it's not!" Her fiancé hissed, snarling at himself. "I can't and won't forgive myself for… for doing that… to you." _Grrr, if only I hadn't gone on that damn trip…_

"Don't blame yourself," she insisted. "It was Xion's doing, not yours…"

The guilt that gnawed at this conscience didn't cease. "That freaking bastard…" Anger flashed in his glowering light brown eyes, replacing the former serene look of tranquility in them.

She smiled wryly. "Heehee, that phrase is too kind for him, I think…"

He ducked his head, quietly murmuring under his breath. Sighing in compassion, the feline zoanthrope leaned down with a small smile on her face, and lightly pressed her soft pink lips against his healing injury. Taking in a quivery breath, his pupils darkened with emotion and the blue-haired ninja waited until she looked up again before diving to capture her mouth. A little astounded by his sudden action, she jerked back slightly in surprise, but one of his hands slid up her spine to press upon the base of her neck, gently but firmly holding her to him.

Shivering in pleasure at his sultry taste, she gripped a fistful of her blanket for comfort as her companion angled her head and shifted his body so that the couple could feel more cushioned in their positions. She felt the passion emitting ardently from him, and her hand balled into a small fist, still resting on his bare chest. Noticing that he had begun to stroke her fingers through her long silky hair, Uriko paused, marveling at the feel.

_Hands hardened from the experience of battle… yet still able to perform such gentle acts…_ She thought to herself dazedly in slight amazement.

Sensing her hesitation, the mole zoanthrope broke the kiss and whispered into her ear, "Are you okay…?" _I hope she doesn't revolt at the concept of my embraces…_

She shook her head. "No… I'm all right…" _I think I'm pretty warmed up by now…_ A shaky sigh escaped from her when Kenji smiled and descended his lips to her neck, delicately sucking on her sensitive skin. "I'm j-just fine…" she gasped as the blissful feeling deepened and teased weakly, "Hehe… a-are you trying to suck my blood, Kenji…?"

He chuckled, his voice tentative and husky. "Don't worry, I'm not Jenny… I'm only after your neck, not your blood…" _Riko… so beautiful…_

_I wonder if he wants to… stay with me…_ The young woman's eyes fluttered to a close as his breath and kisses moistened the surface of her flesh. Subconsciously, she began to lower herself down, her accomplice following, unfazed, until her back came into contact with the firm mattress. Slinking her arms around his neck, she relaxed, letting her weight lay on the bed and all of a sudden felt something nudging at her shoulder.

Her eyes opening instinctively, the auburn-haired teenager turned to her side and saw her fiancé nuzzling the thin strap of her undershirt, then looked up at her bashfully, silently asking permission. Pink flushed her warm cheeks as she nodded timidly, a small fire kindling inwardly when he gently bit the thin strap and eased it down gradually. Releasing his hold, the dark-haired teenager kissed her exposed shoulder and she closed her eyes, pushing down the urge to tremble.

"I am so glad that you are my first…" he whispered to her earnestly. _To think, it could have been that provocative, smutty little… No, only for Riko - no one else._

"I **knew** you were still alive, out there somewhere," Uriko said, strong confidence in her quiet words. "I refused to believe that you were dead, be-because…" she trailed off.

"Because what?" he inquired persistently, bringing up his head to forge eye contact with her.

"Well, I bet this will sound stupid…" She smiled wryly. "But… I _felt_ that you were alive…"

"…Really?" _That doesn't sound stupid at all…_

"Yeah…" she informed him. "I mean, even when all that so-called 'evidence' was brandished to me, pointing to the possibility of your being deceased, there was still this inkling of hope inside me that kept insisting you were alive. I'm not sure where it came from…" _Most likely my stubborn heart, hehe…_ "…But I slowly grew to trust it. And I'm elated that I did…"

A shadow of a smile formed over his lips. "So am I… Heh, you were always very resolute, Riko, and you still are, which isn't a bad thing, of course. When your faith and determination merge together, your will is a lot stronger. You become very goal-oriented and will proceed to the end seeing the whole way through…"

She blushed at his compliments. "Th-thanks… You know, at this rate, you'll never get to go to sleep…"

Flushing, the dark-haired teenager glanced away and mumbled, his voice barely audible, "Sleep's not really on my mind presently; I suddenly have a burst of energy…"

His fiancée smiled and asked shyly, "U-um, could it be thanks to the help of… err…"

"I-I guess…" he replied timidly, knowing what she was trying to say. "B-but I don't want to disrupt you from sleeping or anything…"

She shook her head, taking in a shaky breath at the feel of his body covering over hers, warmth emitting from him and seeping through the thin barrier of her attire to reach her skin. "I'll be alright. But, I thought you had the exam to take tomorrow…?"

Kenji nodded, gripping a hold of her hand firmly. "Yeah, I do. I hope I'll pass it…"

"Did you study?"

"While you were recuperating from our fight with Xion, that was all that I did," she was informed. "It was occupying my mind, next to the thoughts of your recovery. I feel prepared for the test, but I guess I'm just a little nervous at the downside…"

"Well, don't worry," the young woman assured him confidently. "You won't fail. I know you; we were in a lot of classes together in our first two years…"

"Heh, I took some of those courses because you were in them," he confessed bashfully. "I mean, not that I felt forced or obligated, it's just that I wanted to be in the same class as you."

"Really…?" Her vision became slightly blurred by the dampness that had started to moisten.

Smiling down at her, he nodded his reply and she felt touched at his admittance. Timidly wrapping her arms around his neck, she tediously brought him to her; shutting her eyes, she tilted her chin up and he met her lips with his own tenderly. His fingers found the small of her back and he held onto Uriko gently, being careful not to apply pressure to her still-recovering form as he tightened his hold, lessening the small distance between them.

One of her hands left to roam around the mattress, grabbing the edge of the blanket and dragging the material over the couple. Feeling the object falling onto his back, the blue-haired ninja was a bit startled, but upon realizing what had happened, a small grin made its way to his mouth.

"Are you cold now, Riko?" he inquired softly, viewing her eyes open at his question.

"Um, no, but I don't want to be cold when, when…" She trailed off, her cheeks flushing a fierce shade of crimson.

He chuckled quietly, blushing also. "That's good, 'cause I don't want you to be either…"

Tentatively, the hand he had resting near the bottom of her tank top ducked under the material, tickling her bare stomach. She squirmed albeit restlessly in protest, unable to fight back the small giggle that escaped from her. Unintentionally his fingers traveled upwards in a leisure rate, his darkened pupils watching her intently, anticipating any signs of refusal. Looking back at him silently, the cat zoanthrope snuggled more firmly against her companion, making him grit his teeth slightly.

Her cheeks turned redder when she took a hold of the bottom of her shirt and swiftly brought it over her head, letting the article of clothing slide to the ground with a soundless slither. Her upper body now bared, she began to shiver as a slight chill came over her. Breathing a bit raggedly, the young ninja gritted his teeth more tightly, pushing down the internal instincts had arisen and hugged her to him firmly, his fingers shaking on her silky, exposed back.

"I love you, Riko." he managed to whisper huskily, his mouth against the quivering skin of her neck. "B…but it's not because of… th-this…"

Letting a rapturous moan hiss past her lips, she murmured, "I-I know, Kenji… I love you too…"

His head descending a bit lower, she giggled as the soft strands of his dark blue hair tickled the area between her chin and the base of her neck. Her flesh was moistened as his lips met certain spots, leaving behind a frail damp imprint. Her nails dug slightly into him as the hand on his neck tried to ball up instinctively; her breath caught when she felt him grazed gently against the valley between her chest. His mouth idly closed over one of her breasts and she swallowed as the gasp that pushed out of her rose up and disappeared into the air.

_Argh… I hope I'm not moving too fast…_ Kenji thought silently. _Huh, sh-she's letting me; I wonder if-…_

Pressing his body more closely to hers, his hands still supporting her back, he fought for control as he began to gently suckle, drawing her into his mouth, teeth unintentionally grazing against her nipple. His fiancée let out a throaty moan at his action, and her hands gripped his neck fiercely for comfort, her body subconsciously squirming in a restless manner. Passionate sensation flooded her and it gradually increased as a sigh of bliss pushed past her lips.

The faint shadows dancing across her ceiling were the last things Uriko spied before her eyes fluttered to a close, allowing the rapturous events continue reaching to the peak. Darkness cloaked over her room, falling on the silhouette forms of the two and weak lighting from the stars blinked upon both of them, marking their special event. Outside, the night sky turned into a beautiful black and lavender shade, blending the two colors, merging them together and symbolizing the couple's unity.

****

End Of Chapter 22


	23. Letting Tensions Run Free

****

Bloody Roar III: Reunited by Chance, a Reflection of the Past

By Tiger5913

Chapter 23

Letting Tensions Run Free

__

A rare night out for relaxation

Occurs in the midst of all the events

The tension is lifted; temporarily resolved

Curiosity makes its appearance

At a supposedly casual act.

"I swear, you two act like a couple from the movies!"

At the remark, pink flushed the cheeks of the cat zoanthrope as she giggled and replied, "Aww, we're not, Chrysta…"

"Hehe, admit it; it's like Romeo and Juliet without the tragedy," her other best friend commented.

"Ke-ri!" she protested weakly.

"Hey, you and Kenji are really cute! That's all she's trying to say!" Chrysta defended, chucking giddily.

"Oh yeah? And what about you and Curt, Erika and Ryan, hmm?"

Laughing softly at her friends who had began to blush; the brown-haired teenager shook her head in slight exasperation. Loud music pounded in her ears, coupled with various colored lights flashing over the girls. Taking in a thin breath, Uriko caught a whiff of the musky air emitting from the other teenagers and coughed. As her body twisted and moved to the rhythmic beat of the fast-paced song, she grinned at her companions, trying to ignore the slight suffocating feeling that was building up inside her.

Starting to fan herself, Erika slowed to a stop and said a little breathlessly, "Man, can't believe it's been almost three hours already since we came here-!"

"Maybe we should take a break?" The ebony-haired female suggested.

"Yeah, I think that'd be a good idea," she inputted, wiping away the beads of sweat that glistened on her forehead from the flashing lights.

Nodding her agreement, the Kenpo student turned and started heading towards an empty booth of the Teen Zone, motioning for the two others behind her to follow. Plopping down on the cushy seat with a serene sigh, she felt her muscles instantly begin to relax, releasing the tension that had built. Her friends sat across the table from her, equal looks of relief on their flustered faces.

"Hey, when **is** your lover-boy gonna get here, anyway?" The youngest of the trio spoke up. "I want to see how he felt about that test before I take Curt out for his birthday!"

Uriko flushed a little at the reference. "Um, he should be finished by now… He went to the school at around noon, and it's currently almost six…"

Erika's eyes widened upon hearing that. "Whoa, it's almost _six_? Oh, I'm supposed to meet Ryan at that time!" Giving her accomplices an apologetic look, she quickly hugged Chrysta, then slid out of her seat and did the same to her other best friend. "See you later!" she called to them as she pushed her way through the crowd and trod out the doors.

"So, um…" the cat zoanthrope turned to her remaining companion with a small smile. "Do you have anything special planned for Curt tonight?"

At the mention, her dark-haired friend shifted a bit uncomfortably, staying silent as her gaze danced around elsewhere.

"…Chrysta?" Her expression turned a little concerned. "Is something wrong…?"

"Um… Uriko, I kind of have a question…" her voice was quiet and hesitant, as if she was uncertain.

She nodded. "Okay, I hope I'll be able to help you. Go ahead."

"Erm…" the sixteen-year-old seemed embarrassed as she said, "I've… gotten Curt a present… but…"

Uriko smiled and proclaimed reassuringly, "Don't worry, I bet he'll like whatever you get for him."

"Uh, yeah, I hope so…" Chrysta coughed. "But you see, the thing is, it's his eighteenth birthday, and…"

"And what…?"

"We-ell, I… I know you probably are just as baffled as I am about this subject…" her voice grew even softer. "But do you think that Curt would like a more… _personal_ present…?"

"'Personal'?" her best friend questioned, frowning in mystification.

"…"

_What does she mean by that…?_ The young woman tilted her head to the side slightly in curiosity; her eyebrow raised a notch when the realization dawned on her. "…_Oh_… Do… do you mean…"

Pink flushed the cheeks of the ebony-haired student. "Um… yeah… I mean, do you think…"

Her companion managed a weak smile. "I'm no… expert… or anything like that, you know…"

She nodded. "Yeah, I know, but I'd just like to, uh, hear your opinion… Like, what are your thoughts on this…?"

The Kenpo student's expression grew serious as she forged eye contact with her friend and lowered her tone, a solemn edge to her attitude as she said, "Well, first off, this is completely up to you and Curt… Don't be influenced, pressured, by anyone or anything like that, okay?"

Chrysta gave her a wry smile. "All right, I won't. Curt didn't pressure me; we've just talked about it before, and I was wondering when I should… make the move."

"It's good that you two have discussed it," the seventeen-year-old mused. "So if anything does happen, you both will probably be prepared…"

"I'm just pondering on the 'when' part… I mean, how do you know when is the time?"

Uriko's brows knotted together into a tighter frown. "Um, that's kinda hard to say… From what experience I've had, I think that you should wait until you feel that you're ready."

"Until I'm ready…" her best friend let out a dejected sigh. "I don't know if I would even be able to detect when I am-…" Suddenly, her head perked up, her eyes widened. "Wait, hold on a minute… Uriko, did you just say 'from what experience _I've_ had'?"

"H-huh?" She looked slightly confused at first. _…Oh, crap…_ Blushing fiercely, she rested her elbows on the table and leaned her forehead onto her hands, 'casually' covering her face.

"You… …have before?" The young student inquired with earnest surprise in her voice. "Seriously??"

_Oh, lord; oh, lord…_ Turning a deeper shade of crimson, her mouth went dry and her eyes squeezed shut in embarrassment, unable to answer at the moment.

"Uriko…?"

"… …Y-yeah." The feline zoanthrope answered finally, barely audible. _How could I let that slip out…?_

The dark brown pupils of her friend widened even more as she murmured in amazement, "…Wow… W-who with? Kenji?"

"…" She let the sixteen-year-old answer that one on her own.

"That's… Wow…" was all she managed. "Were you two, erm…" she coughed a bit uneasily. "…Beforehand?"

"It was, um," her cheeks felt like they had been doused with flames. "The first time for the both of us…" _Kenji's gonna kill me for telling this…_

Chrysta sighed, her expression forlorn and her eyes appearing starry-gazed. "How sweet… You two are so in love…"

The Kenpo student couldn't help but smile. "Yeah… I do love him… That's why…" she trailed off, still feeling albeit flustered.

"I think that is so romantic!" Her younger friend exclaimed. "It's cute, really! I mean, there's no else better for you guys but each other!"

_Hehe, that sounds so corny… but true…_ A small grin quirked at the corners of her mouth. "I think you're right…"

"You think what's right?" A voice chimed in, straining to be heard over the noise level of the room.

Chrysta turned immediately at the familiarity. "Curt!"

Her boyfriend smiled warmly. "Hey Chrysta, Uriko."

The seventeen-year-old smiled back a bit wryly. "Happy Birthday, Mr. Eighteenth. How does it feel to be one of the 'old-timers' now?"

He grinned and put on a fake mocking accent; "You darned kids just get more smart-mouthed every passin' second. Why, back in my day-"

"You used to be cool, and one of us!" The younger female exclaimed with a teasing giggle.

Curt pouted playfully, pretending to look hurt. "Sniff… you're so mean…"

She placed a hand on his arm. "Aww… don't worry, I still love ya!" While he was flushing at what she had said, Chrysta continued, "Hey Curt, we'd better get going if we don't want to be late for our reservation!"

The solo male in the trio nodded and slipped his hand into his girlfriend's. "Okay. See you later, Uriko."

"Have fun you two," the cat zoanthrope said to them. As her best friend let herself get pulled up from her seat by her boyfriend, she whispered into the sixteen-year-old's ear, "Remember, don't do anything unless you feel that you're **ready**… And please don't tell anyone about… you know…"

"I'll keep your secret to myself," she promised with an earnest smile. "Also, I think that Curt and I will wait a little while…"

Uriko nodded her support. "That's good, decide what best suits the both of you."

"Thanks for the advice; bye!" The dark-haired female gave her best friend a tight hug, and then the Kenpo student watched as the young couple disappeared into the crowd of teenagers on the dance floor.

Remaining at the table, a small smile formed over her mouth as she thought, _Kenji and I were ready… I'm glad our experiences were wonderful. Who was the one that came up with all the first-time-is-horrible bullcrap anyway? It wasn't for us…_

Letting out a soft sigh, the young woman stood up and slid out of her seat. _Maybe he forgot to meet me here and went home already?_ Her neatly braided hair bounced against her back as she braced through the mingled dancing groups and released a brief of relief upon sighting the double doors that led out of the building. She pushed her way into the cool tranquility of the night, basking in the breezy feel on her sweat-dampened skin.

The mahogany-haired teenager smoothed a wrinkle out of the red upper portion of her matador outfit. Black Lycra shorts hugged her slender muscular thighs, the thin material a couple centimeters shy of reaching her knees. The firm soles of her matching charcoal-colored feet attire met the ground as she strolled down the sidewalk, heading in the direction of her fiancé's house.

The enticing glow of the moonbeams from above shone down upon her petite figure, reflecting light off of her long silky hair. Her arms dangled freely by her sides, casually swaying back and forth in beat with the smooth current of the wind. Chocolate brown irises danced around the different aspects of the surroundings, taking note of the shadowed objects that ducked and hid in the corners. A soft smile touched her carnation pink lips, silently welcoming the serenity of the setting. 

As she inhaled a deep breath of the comforting night air, a feeling of relaxation filled her body, soothing her. Her bangs blew gently into her face, brushing over her eyes, but a contented sigh was her mere reaction. The cat zoanthrope took in the quiet sounds, glancing around the place, overlooking a swooshing noise that was ignored by her ears. She did not notice the presence that was nearby, or acknowledge the form that dropped before her until she felt something firm collide with her.

"Oh!" She exclaimed in a hushed tone, turning her face to meet the person that she had bumped into.

He grimaced slightly, then quickly recovered and gave her a small smile. "You know Riko, I was told to always look foreword when I walk…"

"Kenji! You're back!" Flashing him a joyous smile, the auburn-haired young woman slipped her arms around his neck, embracing him warmly. She retracted a little and glanced at him curiously; "How did it go? Did you just get here?"

"Yeah," her fiancé answered. "I honestly didn't think it would have taken that long. There were just questions after questions after questions…" He rolled his eyes in exasperation.

"When do you get your results?"

He grinned and brandished to her a folded up sheet of paper. "The same afternoon."

"Wow, really?" She glanced at her companion, trying to read his expression. "Hehe, not that I have to ask… But, you passed, huh?"

Kenji flushed and scratched the back of his head a bit awkwardly. "Uh huh… Ninety-seven percent…"

The Kenpo student smiled proudly. "I know you'd get some kind of high percentage like that with the level of your intellect. Hehe, I bet you probably inherited that from Master Lo-" she trailed off abruptly, wincing when she saw his facial features tighten at the reminder of their relation. "Er, I… Um, I mean…"

"…That's alright, Riko." The dark-haired ninja replied quietly. "It… I suppose it _could_ be a possibility…"

Her lips curled into a frown. "S-Sorry, I didn't mean to-"

"It's no problem, don't worry," he cut her off gently, waving his hand in dismissal. A small shadow of a smile played about his lips as he said, "Come on, let's get going…"

Nodding her answer, Uriko stepped back and fell into step with her accomplice as he began to stride down the cemented sidewalk. Casting her a secret look, he timidly slipped his hand through hers and their fingers intertwined together casually, as if by default instinct. Grasping the warm comfort tightly, a smile replaced her former expression and a soft sigh escaped her lips.

"You know…" the mole zoanthrope started to say, breaking the silence, "Things have been rather peaceful around here lately…"

"Yes, they have," his fiancée agreed. "I think it's a nice change from before…"

"Hmm, I think so too," he told her, a thoughtful look coming over his face. "But still… there's a kind of a part inside me that feels disappointed. I guess that's my…fighting spirit…"

"Oh?" She gave him a sideways glance. "Ever after… what happened between us and Xion?"

His mood darkened and he subconsciously quickened his pace. "…Pathetically, yes. That part is still striving for action."

The young woman shrugged, trying to seem nonchalant as she assured him, "It's nothing to be ashamed of. I… kinda have the same feeling too…" She ducked her head bashfully at the admittance.

"… Hey Riko…"

"Mmmhmm?"

"There's something that I've kinda been wanting to ask you about…"

A bit mystified as well as curious, Uriko nodded. "Okay, shoot."

"How did you…" he paused and cleared his throat. "How did you get your woman beast form back that night… you know, the one that you saved us with when we were fighting against Xion…"

She didn't respond.

"…Uriko?"

"…I don't know, Kenji." The seventeen-year-old female sighed. "I really don't… I just somehow… um, unveiled it… While I was struggling to throw those rocks off of me, there was a voice in my mind that kept urging me to morph a second time…"

"…Really?" Her fiancé appeared slightly baffled. "Interesting…"

"I was confused of course," she continued. "But then, a mental picture of my second form showed up, and… and it turned out to be the woman form…"

He smirked. "You're really lucky, you know, to have the possession of two beast forms…"

"I-I guess…" Uriko scrunched up her face a little. "I mean, it'd be great to have back-up… but still, I don't really like the idea of using it for battling purposes."

"…I think I know how you feel," the blue-haired ninja said sincerely. "Sometimes, I'm afraid that all this fighting will stir up… a blood lust of a sort. Does that make any sense…?"

She nodded solemnly. "That's pretty much the instincts were driving through my mind when I was at Tylon… The hunger and lust to attack others, hurt my targets, even those that I cared about or loved…" her eyes squeezed shut at the painful memory.

"......" Sighing, Kenji shook his head and pulled her more closely to him. "…I hate them for that."

Lifting her head up slightly, she caught sight of a house that the couple was quickly approaching. "…We're here."

He turned in the way that she was looking at. "Oh… yeah."

"Well… good night," The cat zoanthrope smiled warmly, letting go of his hand with reluctance.

"I'll come over tomorrow, okay?" Her fiancé returned the smile.

"All right," she replied. "Just… not _too_ early, or I might still be asleep…" she chuckled lightheartedly.

"If that's the case, then I'll wake you up, Sleeping Beauty, with a kiss…" He half-smirked and leaned toward her, gently brushing his lips against hers in a lingering kiss for demonstration. A contented look on her facial features, she waved leisurely, then turned around in a different direction and started for her own residence.

"Riko…" the remaining bystander murmured, hazy brown irises settled upon her slender curvy figure, watching until her form grew faint.

A slightly forlorn sigh coming from him, Kenji reached a hand into his pocket and pulled out a small key. Facing the door, he inserted it into the lock and twisted the knob, pushing the tall wooden frame inward. Stepping into the house, he was met with dim lighting, and the sight of his older brother standing in the living room, just hanging up the phone.

"Um… hey Yugo," the mole zoanthrope greeted, a curious expression on his face as he turned to shut the door.

His head snapping up, the brown-haired boxer quickly grabbed a jacket that was latched onto a hook hanging on the wall next to him. "Wait, Kenji. Leave it open; I have to step out and find Alice."

"She isn't back yet?" _Huh… he seems kind of preoccupied…_

"I wouldn't be leaving if she was," he answered dryly. "I guess she's working late tonight…"

"W-what's wrong?" the young ninja inquired, feeling a bit mystified. "Is something bothering you, brother?"

"You could say that…" Yugo answered, not offering further explanation as he proceeded out the door. Pausing momentarily, he looked back at his sibling and assured, "I won't be gone very long, don't worry." With that, he tugged the door closed behind him, leaving Kenji to listen to his retreating footsteps.

_…Wonder what that was all about._ The seventeen-year-old thought, his brows knitting together in a small frown as his eyes traveled to flicker upon the phone that was sitting in the cradle.

****

End Of Chapter 23


	24. Cloudy Occurences On The Horizon

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Bloody Roar III: Reunited by Chance, a Reflection of the Past

By Tiger5913

Chapter 24

Cloudy Occurrences On The Horizon

__

Uncertainty brings doubt and misguiding

Precision in her subconscious mind,

Not knowing of her past disturbs

Her deep within; comfort and love

Shows in the form of an item.

_Uninformed of your own identity…_

The silkiness of the dark voice played with her mind, overriding her former pleasant thoughts and she shook her head firmly, fanning her hands as she tried to resist the seductive trap.

_Cannot even find out the truth… Pathetic…_

At the last statement, she turned away and proceeded in a different direction, away from the apathetic jeers. After taking just a few steps, a sudden obstacle appeared in her path; the large black space before her started to enlarge, sucking her into its somber abyss with a dizzyingly strong force.

_No sturdy knowledge of your past…_ the voice continued taunting persuasively. _Not knowing you're actual self…_

Futilely attempting to fight against what ever it was that quickly swallowed her up; its pessimistic mood seeped into her consciousness, wiping out the virtuous part of her. She squirmed in the corrupted atmosphere; feeling a bit smothered by the dark, suffocating cloud that clung around her like a deadly, poisonous omen. A loud cry pushed itself out of her lips as she unwillingly succumbed, the hole taking her in despite protests.

*****

The volume of the scream awoke him; jolted quite abruptly from sleep, Long sat up in his bed and shook his head in confusion, startled by the shout.

__

W-who was that? He wondered. _Could it have been… Jane??_

Realizing that it had came from his girlfriend's residence next door he hastily got of his room. He realized that he had forgotten to put on his glasses as black, fuzzy shadows greeted him in the hallway. His lengthy black bangs grazed against the sides of his face as he darted across the few measly feet that separated the couple's rooms. Fearing what events were transpiring her, he clutched the small cold knob tightly, inwardly preparing himself to morph as he shoved the door open a bit roughly.

Darkness met the Kenpo master's eyes in addition to the blurry features of the setting. Although he couldn't see too well, he knew where the leopard zoanthrope's bed was and rushed over to it. Lying down upon the firm mattress covered with a white bed sheet, asleep and squirming restlessly, Jane groaned as if she were in pain, her body tossing and turning. Leaning over her, he placed his hands on her shoulders and shook her gently, but with firm concern.

"Jane!" He hissed into the quiet room just as a soft moan escaped her lips. "Jane, wake up!"

As she opened her mouth and was presumably about to scream again, the blonde-haired woman was startled awake from her nightmare. She shot up into a sitting position, making her companion jerk back automatically in bodily instinct. Short gasps replaced the formerly silent environment and drops of sweat glistened on her forehead as she placed a hand on her chest, over her heart and tried to slow down her speedy pulse.

"Jane… what's wrong…?" came the worried inquiry.

"Long… it-it's my identity case…" she whispered breathlessly, closing her eyes. "Not knowing about my background continues to haunt me the pass two nights since the time of the last meeting we had with our compatriots…"

"Shhh… it's alright…" Long hushed her gently, going back to her shadowed figure and encircling his arm around her shivering form in comfort. "I… I am so sorry for bringing that subject up at the teahouse, Jane… Perhaps the meeting that we're attending tomorrow night will keep you astray from those thoughts of bafflement…"

Unresponsive, she felt his embrace tighten and the mattress sag a bit as he tentatively sat on it. He slowly fit her head snuggly under his chin and strands of his long dark hair, let down loose for sleeping periods, brushed against the smooth skin of her face. Her ear rested over his heart, and she could hear the fierce pounding of his pulse distinctively.

"Why… why… is your heart beating so fast…?" Jane asked quietly, her voice a bit shaky.

"I heard you scream… and it struck fear in me when I thought of you being in any kind of danger…" the tiger zoanthrope replied softly, lifting one of his hands and placing it gently against her cheek. "Would you… like to talk about your dream? Or are you not comfortable with that right now?"

"I… I was being pulled into a dark hole…" she began. "The same thing happened each time I dreamt this… I don't know what's in the dark pit, but my gut feeling tells me that its contents are far from good…"

"You have very reliable internal instincts," her beau told her. "Trusting them is wise…"

"And a voice…" the leopard zoanthrope continued. "A voice keeps taunting me… saying that I don't know anything about my past… saying that I don't know my true identity… that I am pathetic…"

A fierce glint appeared in his dark brown irises. "You are not pathetic; quite the opposite."

"But… If this is disrupting my subconscious mind… being unacknowledged of my past must be an important issue…" Jane sighed. "I have to know about my past… I need to find out about it… I just can't ignore this… Argh, I don't think I can go back to sleep…"

"…Jane. What about the future?"

"What do you mean?"

"…Think about the future," Long proposed. "Instead of dwelling on the mystery and confusion of your past… why not think about your future? That may be able to occupy your mind until morning…"

"But what about my future…?" she questioned. "I am unsure of that as well…"

"As am I," he admitted quietly. "However… I still find myself pondering on it sometimes…"

Relaxing in his hold, the blonde-haired woman captured a small group of his raven-colored hair in her hands and stroked them with her fingers. "Really? Do you picture anything in your mind when that occurs?"

Unknown to her, he smiled. "Yes. I vividly remember noting the tension between humans and zoanthropes lessening… And all of us enjoying our more tranquil lives, performing our everyday procedures, yet still remaining friends… as with Shawn and Danielle."

Jane nodded, a soft smile playing about her own lips at his prediction. "That sounds very pleasing… And what about us…? As in, you and I?"

His cheeks flushed warmly with embarrassment, despite the cool temperature of the room. "Uh, well… Ahem…"

"Are you alright?" She lifted her head out from under his chin and met his eyes in concern. "Is something wrong…? What do you see happening to us in the future…?"

Long cast his gaze to another part of the room, his voice quiet and timid as he answered, "We… we're still together… But our situation different from the way it is right now…"

_Does he mean what I think he means…?_ The female zoanthrope wondered somewhat tentatively. "What do you mean by… different…?"

He nodded solemnly, his face turned slightly away from hers. "Different… Because we each possess a circular object, small, but with vast in-depth meaning… One that binds two people in holy matrimony…"

_Married…_ she realized. "…You do…?"

"Yes…" her boyfriend replied softly. "I hope that does not scare you, Jane, it was merely a conjecture-"

"No, don't worry, I'm fine," the blonde-haired woman interrupted him gently. "I-I just think I'm feeling a little tired now, that's all…"

"Oh, I apologize for keeping you up…"

She smiled. "It's okay."

"Will you be alright…?"

"Yeah, I think so…" Jane answered quietly, although her voice couldn't mask the unease and uncertainty in her tone.

"Do you… do you want me to stay here… with you?"

Her crystal blue eyes widened slightly at the suggestion. "Stay here… with me…?" _We've never slept in the same room before…_

"If you wish for me to do so, I will…" Long told her sincerely. "…I'll sleep on the floor, if you're worrying about the bedding arrangement."

The leopard zoanthrope found herself shaking her head slowly, ruffling his short-sleeved black shirt that served as the upper portion of his nightwear. "Don't do that… you are not a pet, after all…"

"…What is your proposal, then?"

"......" she didn't answer as she began to slightly blush.

"…_Oh_." He said, his own cheeks flushing pink. "But are you sure… that you won't mind…?"

Jane chuckled softly. "I assure you, I'm not planning to pounce on you or anything like that…"

_We have been living together for almost three years… but never slept alongside each other before…_ her boyfriend thought silently to himself. Out loud, he kidded weakly, "Are you sure about the reversed situation…?"

"I trust you." The twenty-three old female replied simply, strong belief in her words.

Smiling warmly at her devoted faith in him, Long descended his face toward his companion to place a soft kiss on her forehead. At the gentle touch of his lips, a smile quirked at the corners of her mouth. She laid her hands on his forearms and kept a firm hold on the hard muscles of his biceps. Starting to slowly stroke the rough blonde strands of her hair, he leaned down again, this time aiming lower and letting their lips gently come into contact with each other.

_This is definitely more… more preferable than being trapped in the haunting nightmare of my past…_ Jane tightened her grip on him slightly.

_Jane… sweeter than silky mounds of warm honey…_ The Kenpo master thought a bit dazedly as he led both of his hands up to gently cup her face in his callused palms.

The couple parted after an endless period of time, smiles on both of their faces as the female zoanthrope said quietly, "I think I'll be able to go back to sleep now… Thank you for listening to me rant about my nightmare."

"It's alright…" her beau released her from his embrace as she laid down upon the bed, cushioning on her side, her short blonde hair splaying over the soft white pillow underneath.

"Have sweet dreams now, Jane…" the raven-haired man whispered to her in gentle affection, smiling at her silhouetted figure. Following her example, he lied down as well, pulling a part of the blanket over himself.

Gripping the edges of the thick material up to her chin, she shuddered, slightly fearing what new dreams awaited her subconscious state. Noticing her stiffening up a bit Long glanced at her shivering form, his expression softening into a look of compassion. Silently hoping that she wouldn't object, he lifted an arm and carefully slung it over the middle portion of her body, hugging her waist, holding her closely to him.

Drowsily smiling in silent response, Jane placed a hand of her own over his, and he shifted his hand so that their palms collided. As she shut her eyes, allowing her consciousness to subdue, she felt his fingers weave together with hers, linking their hands together. Pictures of her nightmare flashed briefly through her mind, and she gritted her teeth, willing them to be gone. After a moment, they slowly disappeared, and were replaced with visions of her boyfriend's predictions of their future. She drifted off to a quiet slumber, a smile on her face at the new dreams being conjured up.

*****

_Uhhhh…_

Bright yellow light immediately filled her sight the moment her eyes slowly fluttered open. Her bare lower arms were bathed in warmth, the sunrays shining over the majority of her bed, heating the cool temperature of the room. The thick cotton blanket that had covered her whole body from chin down the night before now was muddled around her waist. Stretching her arms over her head, Jane noticed an absence around her waist and turned her face to look over at the side where her beau had been sleeping nearby.

Seeing that the space next to her was unoccupied, her brows knit into a slight frown as she wondered where the Kenpo master had gone. Letting out a soft sigh, she lifted the blanket away and lazily slipped out of her bed. Striding across her amplitude into the bathroom, the leopard zoanthrope stepped up to her mirror. 

Briefly glancing at her reflection through somnolent half-closed eyes, she absentmindedly ran a hand through her tousled blonde bangs. All of a sudden, she felt a few strands of her hair snag onto one of her fingers. Frowning a bit more deeply, Jane carefully untangled her finger free and brought it down to her face level.

A shiny glint was the first thing that caught the light blue pupils of her eyes. Her expression turned into one of earnest surprise as she spotted a golden band encircling the fourth finger of her left hand. Her eyes widening, the young woman blinked and shook her head, then slowly grazed the small object with the fingertips of her other hand. As soon as she had come into with it, a soft sigh of mystification escaped her lips; just then, a flash of red flickered when the sunlight shone upon another small object. Curious, she peered more closely at the band and discovered a beautiful ruby crystal resting in the middle of the ring.

_This is… gorgeous…_ she thought, feeling amazed at being bestowed such a gift. _Did… did Long give this to me while I was sleeping…?_

"Jane… tsou aung," a husky voice spoke up from behind.

The young woman turned when she heard her boyfriend speak and her eyes caught the sight of his tall figure standing before her. A brown tray was in his arms, occupied with a small bowl of rice and two poached eggs; a little cup sat beside it, filled with a light brown liquid. The sweet smell of Jasmine tea flowed in the room, and she smiled at him.

"Good morning to you too…" she replied, trying to hide the shakiness in her tone.

"Did you-" Sounding a little hoarse, Long cleared his throat. "Did you sleep well?"

Her smile grew a little timid. "Y-Yes, I did. Thanks for the comfort after my… nightmare. However…" she glanced at the ring as she raised her left hand to neck level. "I think someone left me a certain object in the middle of the night…"

"Early morning," he corrected, but then flushed slightly at his unconscious admittance. "Ahem, I-I mean…"

She chuckled at his technicality. "All right… so you gave this to me early in the morning today?"

"Y-Yes I did…" her companion turned to his side where a bureau sat and placed the breakfast tray atop it. Looking back to face her, he began to say, "I-I brooded over what you had said regarding the relationship between my disciple and my nephew, and I realized that I rather felt the same way about ours… How we are both responsible enough to handle such a circumstance… that is, if the two of us are equally willing to do this."

_A silent proposal in the midst of my slumbering,_ she thought to herself with a wry grin. _How furtive, yet romantic in its way…_

His eyes met hers, a deep intensity lingering in the depths of his dark brown irises. "M-May I hear your thoughts, Jane?"

_How do I feel about this…_ a small part of her wondered. _…I want to do this. I do love him. I wish I could say it verbally…_ Her smile was a bit shaky but her words were authentic and strong, "I accept your proposal."

"You…do?"

Jane nodded. "So I guess Jenny was right when she said what a future son-in-law you'll be, huh?"

He stepped foreword in enveloped her in a tight embrace that left her feeling albeit breathless. The leopard zoanthrope could hear his heart thudding quickly, pulsing in rhythm with hers as he whispered into her ear, "I should have followed Kenji's example sooner…"

****

End Of Chapter 24


	25. A Fitting Time And Place

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Chapter 25

A Fitting Time And Place

__

Just when everything seems

To be the end… instead, it's

Really the beginning of a new

Era; what awaits the warriors

In their next adventure?

_So tonight is it…_

The quiet squeaking rang throughout the tranquil night air while the breeze coursed into the long thin strands of his cyan-colored hair. Eyes fixated upon a slim flower that was swaying, the delicate yellow petals fluttering freely from the force of the wind. Leaning back onto the hard back of the dark brown bench, his feet dangled over the edge, grazing against the floor of the porch.

_I know that I'm kinda early, but I hope they'll be all here soon… Huh, I wonder where Riko is…?_

"Kenji."

The assuage voice cut through the silence, immediately drawing his attention. His snap snapped up, "Who's there?"

Strangling shadows strung over a figure as tentative footsteps approached him leisurely. Light provided by the crescent moon overhead shone onto the newcomer, revealing his solemn features and identity. A thick ponytail of black hair dangled in front, hanging before his shoulder, leaning atop the gold designs embroided into the royal blue of his Chinese martial arts outfit. "Long."

"Good evening," the Kenpo master greeted quietly.

"…Hello," was the seventeen-year-old's curt reply. "You're the first to arrive. Do you know where the others are? What about Uriko or Jane?"

"Jane went somewhere with your fian-she is out with Uriko." He informed, clearing his throat at the stammer of a close save.

"…Oh." The younger man said impassively. "Hrmp, I haven't seen Uriko all day."

"What did you occupy your time with then?"

"I went around and familiarized myself with places that I haven't seen since the last time I was here - three years ago." Kenji told him. "I found a secluded area of the park and trained there as well. Basically, I did anything that would take my mind off tonight."

"…The memories still haunt you." His companion stated albeit matter-of-factly.

"Of course they do…" he answered wearily. "I still loathe myself for the things I did to the others, and especially for what I did to Uriko…" His expression hardened at the mention and his face twisted into a slight scowl, "For anything I did to hurt her…"

"…I am sure she doesn't want you to feel that of yourself," the tiger zoanthrope remarked with a morose sigh. He gestured toward the empty seat next to his accomplice; "May I sit there…?"

"It's a free country." The dark-haired ninja answered with a shrug.

Glancing at him a bit tediously and with a sliver of caution, Long sat down beside him. His posture was slightly stiff as his eyes were trained foreword, "…Kenji, are you afraid?"

The question was too close to the truth. "W-what?"

"Are you afraid?" He repeated, turning to look at his nephew. "Regarding your informing us of what occurred three years ago, I mean. Do you fear being looked down upon by the others because of your… actions in the past?"

_How the hell did he know…?_ "…Maybe. A little," the mole zoanthrope raised an eyebrow. "How do you know, anyway?"

"That is how I felt a while back, and presently, I still do occasionally, given my background," the raven-haired man said. "A couple of years ago, at the birthday celebration party thrown for my disciple, Jane inquired of my past. She wanted to know why I had detested my abilities so much."

"…And you told her?" the brown-eyed teenager asked.

"Yes, I did." Long replied. "Her not revolting in disgust and understanding nature were an immense relief to me. Jane was very accepting, and didn't look to me for blame, despite the acts of atrocity that I had performed a while back…" 

"I kinda feel the same way about Uriko," Kenji said softly. "Sometimes I don't understand how she can still tolerate being around me, knowing the things I'd done. I'd hurt people I didn't even know, my own brother, my friends, her… however; she still…loves me. I'm a little amazed at that."

"I can empathize," A small smile made its way to his ally's lips. "Both of them have truly caring hearts: Jane and my disciple. I was rather reluctant to get involved with Jane at first, but I realized how foolish it was to refuse companionship. Especially since she had the best intentions in mind."

_I was so reclusive in my childhood… _The seventeen-year-old closed his eyes. "I remember how I was like in my preteen-early teen years. It was nothing really good, either."

"Oh, I heard that you were a bit… erm…" Long trailed off, feeling albeit abashed. "…Solitary."

"Worse than that. That's all right; I don't want things to be sugar-coated for my sake," he said. "I can face reality."

"I apologize."

"Don't worry about it." The younger man dismissed it with a wave of his hand. "…Hey Long."

"Yes?"

"Due to the newfound information… my nationality is Chinese, right? …Like you?"

"Well… you are, half."

"…?" The mole zoanthrope opened his eyes and peered at his companion with curiosity in his expression. "Why is that?"

"Adam was Japanese, and your mother, Chinese," the raven-haired man informed him.

_…There's so much about my mother that I want to know about. I wish I had gotten to know my deceased family members better…_ Kenji hesitated momentarily before deciding to open his mouth for his inquiry.

"Master! Kenji!" came the shrill voice that unknowingly interrupted him.

His eyes couldn't help but narrow slightly, although he wasn't angry with the Kenpo student; he turned to spy two figures cloaked in the shadows approaching him and his companion. "Uriko?"

"Jane?" Long instantly chimed in after.

"Hey," the blonde-haired woman greeted as the younger female went over to her fiancé. "Sorry for the wait, we were at the…mall…" She coughed, shaking her head in slight disbelief at what she had just said. "And the runt was trying to convince me that wearing frilly dresses were alright for… 'certain' occasions." A small secretive smile formed over her lips as he flushed slightly.

A couple feet away, the brown-haired teenager asked her compatriot, "How were you doing today?"

"Re-familiarized myself with formerly well-known places," he told her. "I miss our spot in the park. If only Xion hadn't destroyed it…"

Uriko's expression saddened. "I know… Hey… do you know where my sister and Yugo are? Jane and I were looking for Alice this morning, but we couldn't find her anywhere…"

The dark-haired ninja glanced at her quizzically. "I'm not sure… I don't know if my brother and Alice came home last night or not, but I do know that they weren't at home this morning."

"…This isn't like them," she remarked, quirking an eyebrow. "You don't think they're in trouble or anything… do you?"

The thought hadn't occurred to him. "…I hope not."

As if on cue, a voice from behind her called out sounding albeit breathless, "Sister!"

"…?" The cat zoanthrope whirled around. "Alice!"

Running up to the four with her boyfriend beside her, the young nurse greeted her sibling with a quick smile as Yugo immediately blurted out, "Kenji, we need to talk…"

"You too, Uriko…" Alice added.

The younger couple exchanged a questioning look. "Um, okay…" Kenji spoke up for the both of them. "Is something wrong…?" Long and Jane had equally curious expressions, but decided to give them their privacy; the two of them took a few steps away.

"You two know that the zoanthrope problems aren't only here… right?" The brown-haired boxer started.

"I suspected, but wasn't fully sure." His brother answered.

"Same here," his fiancée chimed in.

"And if some people need help… you both agree that others should try and do anything they can, right? No matter the distance, severity is most important, don't you think?"

"Yeah, I suppose…" Uriko replied slowly. _What's he getting at…?_

"…Sis, pack your bags." The rabbit zoanthrope said out of the blue.

_…Huh?_

"You too, Kenji," Yugo spoke up, glancing at his younger sibling.

"What?" A look of bewilderment formed over the blue-haired ninja's expression. "Why?"

"Us," the twenty-five year old female pointed to him, the Kenpo student, herself, and her boyfriend, "We're going to America."

****

Epilogue

"How many will there be?"

"Four, I believe. The leader of the peace-enforcing group, his younger brother, girlfriend, and her younger sister."

"Yugo Ohgami, Kenji Ohgami, Alice Nonomura, and Uriko Nonomura, correct?"

"Yes…"

"Haha, perfect…"

"I agree; what fools…"

_…Yugo Ohgami? Alice Nonomura?_ Narrowed violet eyes watched the two figures snickering in the quiet area, shadows etching over them, disguising their features. _Hrmp, this should be interesting… not to mention convenient. I shall take care of them at the same time…_ Loose strands of ivory-colored hair floated in the current of the breeze as jet-black bangs tickled the stony forehead. _Alica Tylon does not let perpetrators get away free…_

****

The End… For Now…

Author's Note: *pants* I'm done!! :::runs to soak in a Jacuzzi::: Ahhhh… ^^ Teehee, wow, this was a hella long fic (140 pages! Poor Word! O_o)… Hope I won't hear any groans when I say that there could be a sequel waiting on the horizon… *hears groans* HEY! Ahem, I mean, should I? I had a lot of fun writing this story, even though I didn't exactly follow the events in the actual Bloody Roar III game, but oh well… Readers, leave a review/feedback if you have the time and please let me know of your thoughts on a sequel in it. BTW, before I end this I wanna put in credits to all my devoted friends and dedicated readers…

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Andrew Glasco: Thanks for reading and reviewing the majority of my story! Not sure where you dwindled off to toward the end, LoL… ^_~ Hope to see you back for my later stories!

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bilbo: I really appreciated your encouragement at my not following BRIII's story timeline. *smiles* Don't be a stranger!

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Donovanbddiamond: I know you're not fond of my Jang pairing, but I'm glad you never initiated a fierce debate on that couple, LoL… I'm not really for Yugo/Jane like a few of your friends, but Yulice is definitely A-OK with me! Keep in touch, all right? You know my AIM name!

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Fle: Thank you for the compliment! If you're a writer yourself, please send me some of your stories; I'd love to read what you have!

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LazzyQ: Fellow Kenji lover and one of my dearest best friends! *hugs* One of my strongest Keniko supporters, amongst a lot of you others; never let the Keniko fire die! Also, thanks for doing your first BR fic off of my BRIII story! Alwayz believe in Kenji + Uriko, forever!

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Leopard_Knight: Although I was a little ticked off at your comment about my semi-lemon scenes, I don't mind that much anymore. I know that not everyone may like those, but I wanted to put them into my story, so I did. Personal, selfish feelings, I know… ^_^0 Still, I liked writing them, so I guarantee that there will be more in the future…

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Mallow64: If I can get you to come back here somehow and read this… Thanks!! I know that you're not familiar with Bloody Roar series, but you went anyway and read a couple of my BR fics! Don't worry, I haven't given up on my Final Fantasy VII story series, Cleris forever!

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Mr.E.: That's great to know! I hope that I've brought others to like BR more; long live Bloody Roar!!

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Post Rapture: You faded in and out in the beginning, but that was all right! I still wanna thank you for reviewing the first couple of chapters; this was a long boring story, I know… ^_~

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Rachel: I'm so happy to know that you're a hella devoted Jang fan too! And I'm also glad to know that you liked their engagement; you should write a Jang story of your own, you know!

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StarryPeach: Another one of my closest best friends; love you! Even though you're not familiar with Bloody Roar, I'm glad that you still read and reviewed my story! I hope that you'll grow to be more acknowledged of Bloody Roar soon, and if you don't, I'll be sure to bug ya about it! *grins*

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tony&tyler: Hey there, little brothers! I love you both really much - if only your mom would let you stay on the Internet longer so that you guys could read the rest of my story! I'll find a way somehow, I promise!

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Xavier: If ya don't continue Hunting Games soon, I'm gonna go nuts on you!! *grins* Come on, that's a really cute start! Please continue it some more; I'll be waiting to read the further development!

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Yugo: I know that I didn't have much Yugo + Alice romance in my fic, sorry about that! ^^ It's just because I'm a total hardcore Kenji + Uriko fan… *wide smile* Hope that my songfic, Bloody Roar II: How Did I Fall In Love With You satisfied your Yulice need!

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And for my number one fans…

I love all of you! I can't believe that people are fighting to be my number one fan… @_@ It's really generous of you all… thank you! *hugs to all*

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Alica Tylon: You've been there from day one of my Bloody Roar III fic! I thank you for your devotion and also for entrusting me to MST your pre-BR1 story, The Tylon Clan Series. Hopefully, my MSTing will meet your expectations, and also, I'd like to give you special thanks (you know why! *grins*)!

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Deoku: A Keniko and Yulice fan, eh? I hope that you're tilting toward liking Keniko more!! I adored your reviews; they were all very long and succinctly thorough! You're one of my best reviewers! Stay in touch!

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Flyby Stardancer: Alwayz urged me to let you read my writing journal!! *laughs* Damn, you are so bloody persistent, just like my girl Uriko, teehee! I'm really honored that your first Bloody Roar story was based off of my BRIII fic… *blushes happily* Can't wait to read the rest! BTW you're not serious about making that shrine to me, right? ^^

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PokeDigi: Got ya hooked onto Bloody Roar and damn proud of it! *grins* Now I know you have a certain BR story hanging around your bleachers somewhere… Work on it so that others can read and revel in the wondrous glory of fanfiction from the Bloody Roar fans!

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Psycho Guyver: O_o Wow, you reviewed every chapter one right after another! Uh, you have a hella lot of patience, LoL! Thanks for doing them consecutively; your eyes must have been screaming for mercy to the end! Your devotion was the first to ever initiate this whole "number one fans" battle… @_@ Teehee, your intentions were good though, and I really appreciate all your encouragement. Dude; continue your BRII humor fic already! I'm suffering from Yugo-bashing withdrawal! *glares at Yugo, who shuts his mouth* Hurry!

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And that's all! Sorry for making the credits so long, but I just wanted to show how much I appreciated all of your reviews and compliments… Again, thank you everyone!

With love for my fans,

Tiger5913


	26. Mother's Day

5/13/01

5/13/01

Disclaimer: the characters such as Kenji, Uriko, etc. all belong to Hudson Soft.

Dedication: God, my parents, my 'brothers', Hudson for creating Bloody Roar I-III, and my readers, especially Xion, PokeDigi, LazzyQ, Alica, Deoku, VGuyver, Flyby, StarryPeach, Xavier, and Niteflite.

Special dedication to: my mommy, and Kenji fans.

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Bloody Roar III: Holiday Without Meaning

Roses, daisies, carnations presented

Chocolate, cards, certificates as well

Squeals of delight from children

Warm smiles on maternal figures.

Embracing hugs are given

Full of heart, full of love

They go off hand-in-hand

Dining plans and more gifts in mind.

I watch my sibling depart also,

Joining his beloved in her celebration

Why can't I do the same?

I can, if I ask. But… intruding…

She would let me go with her

I know it; however, it's her mother

It's my burden of having no family

I shouldn't drag her into it.

I won't stand for sorrow, for pity

I know who took my family away, but

Ironically he is what's left of my family

So for that I can't strike him down.

Mother's Day - to me, it's a

Holiday without meaning

I have no reason to celebrate

If only I knew you, my mother…

_Sigh…_

The soft sound escaped the lips of the forlorn figure that sat atop the roof, knees bent comfortably, pointing towards the sky. A calm breeze blew into the area and made its presence known by surrounding the person, teasing strands of dark hair that flew wildly about. Cloaked in darkness under the blue-black starry environment overhead, a pair of slightly drooping light brown eyes lazily traced the paths of the people that strolled around the neighboring blocks. Delighted smiles were plastered over older female maternal figures as they basked in the welcoming emotion that emitted from their offspring.

_…I almost wish that I could do that,_ came the silent, wistful thought. _If only… if only you were still here, my dear, deceased mother…_

The majority of them clutching various gifts and flowers of adoration in their hands, the women looked to their children with warmth in their smiles, love in their eyes as they embraced tightly. He watched all of that, feeling albeit envious inwardly upon sighting his significant other doing the same as the bystanders had elsewhere. She received care from her mother, learned about the ways of life, kept their love and bond close to heart, whereas he would be able to even feel a mother's touch. The quiet protagonist wondered if this was fair, never to have known his matriarch, to not even remember her face, how she was like…

_My mother…_ he lowered his head while his eyes fluttered to a close. _Ivy… that's all I know… your name… Ivy…_

A growl was released from him before he could help it as the discontented thoughts ran through his mind. From below at ground level, she heard the noise and her head perked while she pecked her mother's cheek and guided her back into the house. After seeing her inside, the young woman quirked an eyebrow in curiosity and he remained stationary, quickly hushing himself. It was too late though; she looked in the direction, in which his cry of annoyance had come from, and followed it, ascending to the rooftop of the residence.

_…Damn it,_ he swore silently when she had reached the peak and glanced around to see what had summoned her there.

"…Who's there?" was her soft, yet unyielding whisper of question that drifted into the air. "If you're an intruder, leave - now."

"…Riko, it's me," he finally answered after a moment. "It's Kenji, and I hope that I'm not intruding right now…"

"…? Kenji?" His fiancée carefully made her way over to him. "Oh, sorry… I didn't know where you went off to after I called this morning and told you I was going out with Mother for the day…"

Giving her what he hoped was a reassuring smile, Kenji Ohgami waved a hand absentmindedly, dismissing the issue while replying, "I've been around. Don't worry about me."

Noticing the slightly chilly tone in his voice, she bit her lip and took a seat next to him, throwing her head back as she closed her eyes. Her long brown hair fell down her posterior, playing with the wind and she sighed rapturously at the relaxing breeze that cooled her body. He glanced over at her, the smile that was playing about his lips growing albeit wider at her carefree state, her kittenish attitude.

"What's wrong?" She inquired, her chest and abdomen rising and lowering evenly as she breathed peacefully.

"Nothing," he instantly answered. "I'm fine."

"Something's bothering you," she persisted. "I can tell…"

"…I don't want to pester you with it, Uriko." The cyan-haired ninja said. "Especially not today, on _Mother's Day_, of all times."

_…So that's it._ A small frown crept over Uriko Nonomura's face, replacing her usual cheery expression and warm smile. "…Your mom…"

"Yes," he admitted it, knowing full well that she would figure it out. "But you know me, constantly dwelling on my past, on what I've lost instead of what I've gained from my experiences and occurrences."

At that, she opened her eyes and shifted her position to wrap her arms around her companion in a tight hug. "I'm… I'm sorry about your mother… and… and my Master-"

"I don't want to talk about that right now," he spoke up curtly, cutting her off, but then felt a pang of guilt hit him when he saw her wince and shrink away from him. _Smart move, idiot; take out your depression on someone you love._ He thought, inwardly scolding himself as he watched her hug her knees to her chest and hide her face in them. "Riko… sorry…"

"Nah, it's okay… I shouldn't have brought that up," the Kenpo student mumbled. "I tend to speak my mind a lot, I guess too often, sorry. I won't mention that anymore."

Kenji swore under his breath and leisurely moved toward her, slinging an arm around her shoulder and hugging her slender figure to him. "No Riko, speak your mind. I want you to. Don't let me stop you just because I have some of the stupidest ways of hiding from my problems-"

She grimaced and turned her face toward him, quickly leaning foreword and pressing her lips against his, silencing him from his rant. Taken back slightly, he jerked a little but recovered and moved his hand from her shoulder to slide up into her hair. Angling her head to fit their conveniences, he sighed into her mouth and slipped his other arm around her waist to decrease the distance between their bodies.

Breaking it off after a few moments, the male zoanthrope smiled shakily at her and questioned, "What was that for, Riko…?"

Uriko blushed a little but told him, "Um… A polite way to shut you up?"

He looked at her for a minute, then laughed; her cheeks flushed a deeper shade of red but she reveled in hearing the joyous sound that he was expressing.

"Okay, you win," her fiancé drawled, gently stroking her cheek. "No more depressing talk."

She embraced him tightly. "You know… Someday, Mother will be your mother as well…"

The ninja chuckled and hugged her back just as fiercely. _I know… but still…_ His half-closed eyes raised to look up into the sky. _I still wish that I knew you, Ivy… …Mom…_

****

The End

Author's Note: I got sudden inspiration for this fic because of (duh) Mother's Day! =P I feel sad for Kenji though because he doesn't know about his mother and in my story universe, she's already deceased… So I decided to write this in dedication to him, to you Kenji fans, and to my own mom, who I am fortunate to have with me today. Happy Mother's Day everyone and God Bless you all.

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With love for my fans,

Tiger5913


	27. Kenji's Thoughts During Chapter 2

6/6/01

6/6/01

Disclaimer: the characters such as Kenji, Uriko, etc. belong to Hudson Soft

Dedication: God, my parents, my 'brothers', Hudson for creating Bloody Roar I-III, and my readers, especially PokeDigi, Xion, StarryPeach, LazzyQ, Alica, Deoku, VGuyver, Flyby, and Niteflite.

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Bloody Roar III: Revenge Feels Blissful

By Tiger5913

"I have returned…"

The murmured words faded into the passing wind, following the path of the breeze as it weaved through the surroundings. Eyes filled with distaste and jealousy latched onto the sight of two figures standing on the porch before a house. The words in their quiet conversation was too silent to be audible, but after a short amount of time, one of them insured movement. An angered rumble flew into the air with a vicious hiss, as heated red fires ignited in hardened maroon pupils.

_So… she betrayed me…_ The stealthy protagonist thought while hatred surged through his veins as he watched the male lean foreword to kiss his date goodnight.

Unable to stand seeing anymore, he turned away from the duo and leapt off the branch that he had formerly been perched on. Travelling by way of the coverings of the trees, he finally descended to the pavement when he was a couple blocks away. Scanning his present environment, the young man saw that he was in a dark alleyway and sought out to release the anger that was slowly bubbling up to the surface.

_She lied…_ were the words that scrolled through his mind scornfully as he strolled over to a large green dumpster sitting in a dark corner. _My master was right… and now she shall pay for this._

Closing his eyes, he summoned the hidden power that was bestowed within him, releasing the ability that only certain people had. A flash exploded from him, briefly scaring off the shadows and lighting up the alley. His eyelids shot open, and he had retained a different form; glancing down quickly, the figure smiled inwardly at the wicked claws that had replaced his former human hands. Each lengthening at over half a feet, he remembered the blood of his past victims staining them, and was soothed with the thought of feeling the warm red liquid seeping out of open wounds of a certain young woman…

Adverting his attention back to the dumpster, he let out a shrill battle screech of the mole and began executing spiteful techniques. The sturdy metal of the stature quickly succumbed to his enraged attack, and wastes spilled out onto the streets as he made quick work. Clanking and tearing noises rang into the air, but he was oblivious to them, as the only thing he focused on was getting out the pain that plagued him.

"Hey!! What are you doing there?!" A voice shouted from behind him.

Realizing that someone was witnessing his doings, he reverted back into his human self, smirking arrogantly at the poor soul that had dared cross him. The former mole whirled around to face the newcomer, spying a middle-aged man standing a couple feet away.

"You're destroying the city's property!" the bystander yelled foolishly.

His eyes flashed crimson even as a thin malicious smile made its way over his lips. "And you will look like that dumpster in a matter of seconds."

"What-"

Before the innocent person could finish his sentence, the younger man growled menacingly and morphed again almost unconsciously. Fear immediately overtook the other individual, and he gasped out the word, "Z-z-z-z-z-zoanthrope!!"

_That's right, you worthless imbecile._ The agile animal sneered, and charged straight for his newest victim without wasting anymore time.

His eyes widening in dread, the man turned to run away, but he only proceeded a few steps before death met him. "Ar-rgh!" was the final cry that he uttered as the mole jumped atop him, and clamped a tight grip around his neck with two sharp-clawed hands. Hastily spinning around in full circles, he quickly twisted the head off, and watched with wicked glee as the dead body fell limply to the floor. He carelessly tossed the head away, uncaring of its happenings as he laughed inwardly, his blood lust satisfied for the time being.

As he was about to leave and disappear back into the shadows, a sudden familiar scent reached his snout: the smell of another zoanthrope nearby… At first, he was about to disregard the feeling, but when he also heard a shocked gasp somewhere behind him, he stopped. _Well… a new playmate… perhaps I'll keep this one around a bit longer than the last…_

Eerie green eyes shifted to glance at the outsider, and he let out a small screech of surprise when he spied a figure with an enticing hourglass form. It was too much of a coincidence; all too-familiar light brown pupils met his gaze, fright dwelling in them, mixed with courage. He gave her the once-over, feeling a hunger igniting at the sight of her supple body, yet also felt an urge to thrust his claw into her abdomen. The image of her life ending at his hands brought strange pleasure to him, even as he could feel his primitive instincts tell him to perform something otherwise.

"…What are you…?" she asked, and he felt like commending her for keeping her voice steady.

Being in his beast form, he couldn't verbally speak, so he just stood immobilized, watching her silently with curiosity lingering in his irises. She took a few steps back, and naturally, he followed her, knowing that she was trying to lure him under the streetlight nearby. Smirking nonchalantly, he allowed her to do so, and cackling to himself as he watched her expression turn into awe.

"Kenji…?!" the girl inquired, her voice growing high-pitched. "N-no, wait… T-this can't be…you wouldn't kill someone so coldly like that…!"

_Oh yes, and I'm glad to see you too, Uriko._ Kenji Ohgami thought with a cool glance. _Now that you're here, the **real** fun can begin._ Without giving her another chance to speak, he darted at her, then swiftly jumped over her head, escaping the area.

"S-stop!" Uriko Nonomura cried out as she turned to stubbornly chase him.

_She wants to play cat and mouse? Fine._ He stopped abruptly, feeling her run into his back. He whirled around to face her, and the two forged eye contact for what seemed like an eternity, before he finally made a move. Back-flipping three times, light flashed from him once again, and he stood in a still pose, then lifted his dark-haired head up to look at her.

Taking note that she was temporarily distracted from the brightness, a sinister smile played about his lips and he arose to a standing position. Approaching her, he paused when they were separated by a mere foot, and lunged out at her with his arm, targeting her throat. He wanted to grab the tender part, then laugh as he crushed it with his bare hand, anxious to hear the sickening crack.

__

You're braver than I thought. He mused silently. _Direly imprudent, but brave._

Somehow, the female zoanthrope bent her body backward at an almost impossible angle, and instead, turned the tables on him. She imprisoned his arm in a tight, iron grip while growling, "What do you think you're doing…Kenji??"

Her counter infuriated him and he didn't bother offering an answer; just crouched down and kicked at her shins forcefully, wanting to free himself. Stunned for a moment, she groaned, and taking that as an advantage, he thrust both of his palms at her abdomen, pushing her back away from him. As she fell to the ground, he made his way over to her and quickly grabbed a hold of her long auburn hair while she was trying to stand up again. The silky strands weakened him for a moment when he reveled in the soft feeling, but he quickly brushed that away with an irritated scowl.

He yanked on her hair roughly, lifting her up to her feet; a cry that sounded muffled reached his ears and that pained release coming from her pleased him. Still, he had orders, and he would obey his master at all costs, so he threatened, "Do not interfere, or else."

Before she could recover from that, Kenji performed his Smoke Bomb tech, and vanished from her sight in the next instant. Reappearing atop the roof of a building just a couple yards away, he watched her from his distance, his eyes narrowing when he saw her morph. _Is she stupid enough to actually try and go after me?_ He received his answer when the feline turned in a different direction and pranced away. _Hm, I suppose not._

Gazing at her retreating form, he remembered how desirable she had looked earlier, even cloaked in the shadows of the night. Unconsciously, his tongue slid out to graze over his lips as he thought devilishly, _She likes playing games. I wonder how Uriko will like participating in a round of slave and master…_

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To be continued…

Author's Note: This little short series will be all about what Kenji was thinking when he saw Uriko with Matt, and explains why he'd go out and kill some innocent person afterwards (being pissed off does that to ya, I guess ^^). The next part to follow this will be his evil thoughts when he fights her again in the daytime, and then, the ever-remorseful whipping session… *cringes at the thought*


	28. Kenji's Thoughts During Chapter 3 part 1

6/7/01

6/7/01

Disclaimer: the characters such as Kenji, Uriko, etc. belong to Hudson Soft

Dedication: God, my parents, my 'brothers', Hudson for creating Bloody Roar I-III, and my readers, especially PokeDigi, Xion, StarryPeach, LazzyQ, Alica, Deoku, VGuyver, Flyby, and Niteflite.

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Bloody Roar III: Tearin' Up My Heart

By Tiger5913

__

That was too easy.

Holding the limp Kenpo student in his arms, Kenji looked down at her, his lips curling in disappointment. Back in his cave dwelling, he propped her up against one of the walls, then grabbed a couple of pieces of rope from his duffel bag nearby. He founded jagged points sticking out from the rocky stature, and tied both of her wrists to them, while a single strand of the hard material was used to bind her ankles together. Completing his task, the ninja took a few steps away, intending to go retrieve an object to give her a rough awakening, but instead found himself standing there and just admiring her.

__

It's tearin' up my heart when I'm with you

But when we are apart, I feel it too

Her long shiny tress was tousled and looked a bit frenzy due to the fight that she had been involved with him beforehand. And still, he slowly reached out a hand toward the silky brown strands, his breath catching at the soothing feeling of her hair flowing past his callused fingers. Thin black eyelashes daintily fanned against her smooth skin, and he glanced at them while stroking her cheek with the back of his hand. Full, pale dawn-tinted pink lips were slightly pursed, looking almost as if she was pouting; the mole zoanthrope froze for a minute, engaged in an internal battle. 

__

And no matter what I do, I feel the pain

With or without you

Shaking his head free of the lustful thoughts, he strode over to his bag, and pulled out a couple of bathing products, as well as a pair of undergarments and black pants to dress into afterwards. There was a pond nearby in a secluded area, where he had washed and cleaned himself at, and he planned to head there right then. Shooting his captive a gaze before heading outside, her attractive features called to him, playing a slow, seductive melody that emitted a groan from him. Quickly turning his back on her, Kenji took his leave, trying to get rid of the ache that was leisurely overtaking him.

__

I'll come back soon, my beautiful prisoner. He thought witha wicked smile.

*****

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(hey…yeah) Baby I don't understand

Just why we can't be lovers

…Still not conscious yet.

He snarled at the impassive female, annoyed that her condition had remained the same since he had left a little while ago. Proceeding over to her in angry strides, a hand snapped foreword to clench her throat, but the resolution melted when he met the warm curve of her neck. Her bringing out that weakness within, the cyan-haired teenager's stony cold eyes softened in an unconscious manner. A small stir, easily overlook-able, moved through her body, showing signs of her becoming awakened into the world of awareness. Unable to fight it any longer and feeling a twinge of frustration directed at her for putting that irrepressible hold on him, his head dived down and sealed her mouth one second after a drowsy sigh escaped from her.

__

Things are getting out of hand

Trying too much, but baby we can't win 

Roughly, he caressed her lips, crooning inwardly at the yielding feel; she let out a soundless moan and both of their bodies instinctively moved to press closely against each other. Then, all of a sudden, the male zoanthrope jerked back quickly, his arms dropping to his sides as he growled under his breath. Glaring coolly at her, he felt his hostility rising up, like vile bile erupting deep in his throat, and decided to wake her up.

__

Let it go

If you want me girl, let me know

"Wake up." He hissed at her, leaving no room for warmth in his voice.

"N-no…" she protested faintly. "I-it hurts…"

"I said,** wake up**." _I'll start playing slave and master with you right now if you don't cooperate; I don't care if you're fully conscious or not._

I am down, on my knees

I can't take it anymore 

"Do not resist; you will just bring more suffering to yourself." Kenji remarked matter-of-factly, smirking as he knew that she would still resist just to defy him.

"W-what difference does it make? I am already in pain and agony!" The statement was strong and the words were full of passionate anger, yet her eyes were looking down at the ground instead of at him.

__

It's tearin' up my heart when I'm with you

But when we are apart, I feel it too

"Hahaha…" he laughed, attempting to appear nonchalant and uncaring of what she thought, even though something gnawed at him internally. Seeing her eyelashes flutter downwards, the seventeen-year-old immediately gripped a tight hold of her chin, yanking it up to meet his cold gaze.

__

And no matter what I do, I feel the pain

With or without you

Staring into her shaky brown eyes, reveling in the fear that was detected in them, he informed her, "Not as much as you're about to be in…"

"H-huh? What do you mean by that??" Uriko's tone turned shrill and he ignored her as he began walking away to a corner of the room, heading toward his bag.

__

(oohhh…alright) Baby don't mis-understand (don't misunderstand)

What I'm trying to tell ya

Digging his hand through the contents inside, he retrieved his prize object, and his eyes gleamed with wicked glee and compensation. Going back to her, he half-hid it in his hands, not wanting her to see and find out what it was yet.

"…What's that?" she naturally inquired, a cautious look in her pupils.With a perilous smile curving his lips, he held the slinky object up. "A…whip?" She inched away from him as far as her restraints would allow her. "What, what are you doing with that!"

__

In the corner of my mind (corner of my mind)

Baby, it feels like we are running out of time 

"N-no…you're not…" she instinctively twisted her body away from him again, which fueled his anger this time.

"Shut up!" He shouted at her. "You can't order me around." His prisoner cringed at the harsh note in his voice, and he leaned in close until their noses almost touched, taunting, "Worthless fool."

__

Let it go

If you want me girl, let me know

"If I'm so worthless, what do you want me for?" she questioned.

_The question I have been waiting to answer._ "Everyone needs an object to play with. Just like the way you and all the others played with me like your little _toy_…"

"W-What?" the brown-haired woman cried, sounding shocked. "What's that supposed to mean? I never used you! None of us never used you!"

He remarked in a silky tone of voice, "Oh… really?" _You're lying yet again, Uriko. Tsk, tsk, when will you ever learn._

I am down on my knees

I can't take it anymore…ohhh 

"Yes!" she insisted, seeming sincere. He received a confused yet weary look from her when he began rubbing her bare shoulder with one of his hands, neglecting the presence of the strap.

Kenji snarled at her answer. "You never cared about me like you said you did; no one gives a damn about me." _I can see through you, sweetheart. You are so transparent, so… fake._

"That's not freaking true!"

__

It's tearin' up my heart when I'm with you

But when we are apart, I feel it too

I tire of this. He thought, slowly growing infuriated and started rubbing the strap of her tank top between his index finger and thumb. "It's not nice to lie."

Her voice displayed her earnest confused when she asked, "What…what happened to you?"

__

And no matter what I do, I feel the pain

With or without you 

So you won't cooperate? Fine, you fool. "I was brought to my senses, that's what happened…" was the vague answer that he offered her._ Now hush! _Before she could say anymore, he finally snapped the whip at her, the thick stringy rope connecting with a slash diagonally across her chest. A small red welt formed immediately, and the mole zoanthrope hid a smile of sick satisfaction as he began whipping her more.

__

Tearin' up my heart and soul

We're apart I feel it too

Cries of pain emitted from Uriko at his harsh treatment, and she barely managed to say, "Ugh… don't…do that!"

_Shut up!_ He thought, miffed at her protest, and eagerly continued letting the thick slinky strap tear at her tender skin, etching and marring the surface with painful bruises. The fury he had stored inside burst open as he struck her repeatedly, his eyes glazing with a lust for her blood. The sight of crimson red warm liquid was what he really desired to see, and he longed to feel her vital fluid of life staining his fingers.

__

and no matter what I do, I feel the pain

With or without you 

She moaned, from agony rather than pleasure like before, when they were in their heated embrace. "Uhhhh… Why…are you doing this…"

__

You still don't understand?! He answered her with a scowl; "I want you to suffer like I did."

"If you wanted support or anything else…I-I would have helped you…" the words were a meek whisper.

__

Tearin' up my heart and soul (alright)

We're apart I feel it too (I feel it too)

Liar. You will never change. "I don't believe you…" _If you would only admit the goddamn truth, I might have gone a little easier on you._

The ninja portrayed his animosity by abusing her to his content, ignoring the mewing wails that she gave him everytime the whip contacted her skin. The cruel session was strangely soothing him, and he felt satisfied at hearing her pained cries, wanting to release more of his ire.

"No more…" she was barely audible.

__

And no matter what I do, I feel the pain

With or without you 

Her body went limp when she slipped into unconsciousness, just as a sudden pain struck his head, and he jerked in surprise. The whip slipped out of his grip and fell to the floor with a dull clank as he brought up both of his hands to hold both sides of his head. After a few minutes, the feeling slowly began to cease, and he stood up, albeit shaky and confused as to what had just happened.

__

It's tearin' up my heart (tearin' up my heart and soul) when I'm with you

But when we are apart, I feel it too (we're apart I feel it too)

Peering over at the cat zoanthrope and seeing that she was quiescent; a twinge of guilt attacked his sensitive nerves. Almost uncontrollably, he began untying the rope that entrapped her ankles, freeing her from the rough binds. Her drained figure fell limply into his arms after he unbound her wrists, and the dark-haired teenager remained still for a moment, holding her. Gazing at the slender form that was in his 'embrace', something inside possessed him to lean over and brush his lips softly against her closed eyelids.

__

And no matter what I do, I feel the pain

With or without you

What am I going to do with you… he wondered to himself as he grabbed a wide pillow out of his bag and placed it on the floor. Laying her down upon the floor, cushioning the back of skull on the comfortable material, Kenji sighted the pained grimaces that her body was showing unconsciously. For some strange reason, his inner being felt like it was tearing in half as he descended down next to her. Inhaling sharply, he turned at the last second and went to lay his head on her chest, in the crevice between her breasts.

_So warm…_ a small smile formed over his mouth. Closing his eyes, he relaxed and slid his arms around her slender figure, gently hugging her. _I'm… I'm… I'm confused…_

And no matter what I do, I feel the pain

With or without you

****

To be continued…

Author's Note: There's more to this because there's more in Chapter 3, but I didn't want this to be too long, so I'm breaking it up into two different parts. Eh, heh, heh, I hope that this didn't disturb my lighthearted readers… Man, I would never wanna cross Kenji when he's pissed off; who knows what he'd do, probably hurt me worse than he did to Uriko, eek… ^^0


	29. Kenji's Thoughts During Chapter 3 part 2...

6/24/01

6/24/01

Disclaimer: the characters such as Kenji, Uriko, etc. belong to Hudson Soft

Dedication: God, my parents, my 'brothers', Hudson for creating Bloody Roar I-III, and my readers, especially PokeDigi, StarryPeach, Xion, LazzyQ, Alica, Deoku, VGuyver, Flyby, and Niteflite.

Special dedication to ~ Deoku and Guyver for putting me in a rotten enough mood to produce this story.

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Bloody Roar III: Shackled By Guilt

By Tiger5913

Sentiment… the opposite of what he had felt in a long time. Arms were encircling his waist, ensuring protection and compassion while a voice whispered words of promise in his ear. Pain had been his ally, his unfortunate companion for the past couple years, and a part of him inside yearned to feel the opposite. He desired bliss, sensuality, and all of the things that had been denied to him because of his cruel captor. Everything of the sort seemed out of his grasp… until he had returned, returned back to her, into the love stored within her heart.

His forehead felt tickled, as his bangs were being teased. Warmth settled on his chest, emitting gentle rays of light on his skin as thin objects trailed over his heart, stealing his beat. He almost grimaced when they encountered a few of the many scars that were etched into his body, but the feeling turned to a strange sense of pleasure, and it was then that he welcomed it. The touch was feather-soft and felt like it was out of good intentions, embracing and caressing his wounds, miraculously healing them in just mere seconds… 

Just then, another warmth suddenly made its presence there, coupling to help with the other one, and that was rapture. Hours of hard, grueling pain had to be endured when he received those injuries, but now they were recovering because of these holy auras… Was he even worthy of such a thing, after all the suffering he had caused to innocent bystanders, such as his former love? Perhaps he was being presented with a second chance to redeem the atrocious acts that he had committed; perhaps it was time to repay everything…

A warning signal alarmed him when the restrain on his neck alerted that something was nearing it, and his eyes immediately shot open. Spying the young woman looming over him, he reached a hand out to grasp her arm, shooting her an augury look as he did so. She was the one that had given him warmth… yet he was giving her back imprisonment and capture, yanking away her freedom and happiness. At that moment, when he sighted her wincing expression, he wished that he could give her smile back, see adoration and trust in her pupils instead of fear and uncertainty.

"Don't touch that." He said evenly. _I miss her warmth…_

She struggled to free her arm, while replying, "Let… go of me."

"What were you doing?" the ninja questioned coldly. _I wish you had continued it._

"Nothing," his prisoner answered, still fighting against his hold as she awkwardly got into a sitting position.

"Why were you touching me?" he asked. _Why did you stop?_

The feline zoanthrope appeared flustered. "What? Puh-lease… D-don't flatter yourself." She glanced down and noticing her hand, instantly retracted it while never meeting his eyes, seeming to be embarrassed.

_Now would be a perfect time to kill her… she's showing resistance, and she is mocking me as well…_ His master would understand his situation, agree with him should he carry out that thought, but he couldn't bring himself to do it. Something shown in her large chocolate brown irises, aside from the dread and dismay of the situation: a shred of determination. He detected that she still had hope that things would work out, she would be able to go free, and… and that he would go with her…

"Why can't I kill you…?" he wondered, full well knowing the answer, while caressing the smooth skin of her chin with his hand.

"I'm wondering the same thing myself." The Kenpo student agreed, trying to gain freedom of her wrist from his hold on her once again.

An amused laugh escaped his lips. "I think I'm attracted to you-" _I **know** I'm attracted to you…_

Her answer was an unconvinced snorted. "Hah! Yeah, right."

"-But it won't last for long." _My lust for you will fade eventually…_

She shot him a scornful look. "Oh gee, how did you come to the first conclusion?"

For some reason, he didn't truly know the explanation to that question himself. "I…I don't know." _You're beautiful, loving, brimming with passion from your heart, even forgiving… how can anyone not be attracted to you…_

Her head tiled as she gave him a sideways glance. "Are you going to let me go anytime soon? Mother and the others are gonna get worried."

_You want your freedom… _"Hrmp, do you think I'm stupid?" _But I keep entrapping you in an unwanted prison…_

"Sweetheart, you really don't want me to answer that right now." That reference brought a miniscule twist to his mouth that somewhat resembled a smile, but it disappeared when she continued with, "Now please let go of my freaking hand before I break your damn arm."

Something in her voice broke through to him, and he took his arm away from her hand, flinching when he saw her shaking out the pain of his grasp.

"Geez, what a tight grip," Uriko remarked irritably. "So what are you gonna do now?"

"I am supposed to be interrogating you." He informed her bluntly, then fighting down the resistance that was igniting in his own body, he captured her arms and bound them behind her.

Her eyes meet him, shock hovering in them as she spoke up, "I hope you don't mind my asking, but… What'd I ever do to you??"

"You really want to get me started?" he asked while giving her a cold glare. _I don't want to hurt you again…_

The sudden slump in her shoulders suggested that she was starting to succumb to defeat, and that actually brought a twinge of fear to him. "Sigh… and to think that you loved me…"

_…Love?_ Kenji paused when a tingle shot up his spine at the familiarity of the words. _…Love… Have I ever felt that before…? But who… who could ever love a monster like I…? _Shaking the effects off, he inquired curiously, "…What was that?"

"None of your business," she retorted, defiance in her words.

Still, she had struck a sensitive nerve in him, and he began to shudder violently in response, letting out a strangled, "Ugh-!"

"Kenji? What's wrong??" The auburn-haired teenager turned to look at him, and earnest concern was shining in her irises, care for… _him_…

"Damn that stupid thing already!" she shrieked.

Weaken a little, he wasn't able to prevent her from reaching both of her hands towards the ring, and stretch it out away from his neck. While he was recovering from her action, she was already tugging at the coarse material, and he opened his eyes to angrily glare at her with his blood red pupils. They glowed menacingly at her, telling her to keep away from him, but she challenged him with a hiss, baring her teeth. Snarling at her, he tried desperately to pry her hands away, but to no avail, his effort only fired up her determination.

"Quit struggling-!" the female teenager ordered.

Ignoring her, the dark-haired ninja reared his arm back as small bolts of lightning began emitting and he brought it foreword. The electricity shocked her chest, travelling quickly to zap her skin, and the force of his attack knocked the young woman back a couple yards away from him.

Uriko sprang to her feet as soon as she could. "Tell me what that thing is!"

_Damn it, she's too strong for her own good,_ Kenji thought as he rubbed his throat vigorously. "Stay away from it!" _Hrmp, you may be strong, Uriko, but I'm stronger than you are, so don't count on beating me._

"Why?!"

His patience was running thin; he raised a fist at her and growled dangerously. "That's none of your goddamn business!" _Freaking nosy as hell! Stay out of my affairs!_

"I'm not afraid of you!" she yelled back, raising her fists and bending her knees slightly as she eyed him carefully in her battle pose.

He smirked arrogantly. _Rather, you're not willing to admit to yourself that you are… you're staying in your little bubble of denial, sweet Uriko. _"Are you sure about that? Because based on our last battle, you should be…"

Her expression softened greatly as she informed him, "Kenji, I've known you since we were fourteen. You never really gave me a reason to be afraid."

"You sound so sure of yourself," the blue-haired teenager answered. _After what I did to her, she still doesn't fear me…? _"Confident of your words, as if you really know me." _How can I possibly remind you of how I once was…?_

A frown marred her facial features. "I suppose I sound kind of like you did back when you were Bakuryu."

"Oh, so you are dissing me now?" _I knew there had to be a catch. She was pretending with me, hah._

"No…" she told him, losing her former posture to fold her arms across her chest and rest her back against the wall behind her. "I'm not."

_She's so rare… _"…You're an interesting one," the ninja mused. "Why aren't you resisting me?" _Her spirit's strong…_

Letting out an agitated scowl, the Kenpo student stepped up to him and lightly but meaningfully tapped her palm on his forehead. He flinched, but didn't counteract. "Hello? Kenji, don't you remember our shared past at all?" 

He let out an unconvincing sneer, then pushed her hand away, making her resort to taking a hold of his arm instead. "After all we've been through together, I've… gotten to trust you."

_Trust…? She still trusts me, after what I've done…? _"You've…what?" Kenji inquired, looking confused at her words; succumbing for the moment, he slipped his wrist out a little to link their hands together. Feeling her warmth gave him a sense of comfort, and he clung onto it while tentatively glancing into her pupils. There was forgiveness in them that called to his attention, and he yearned to be lost in her eyes, where he would always be safe and secured. He wouldn't have to fear being punished everytime he made a mistake, and instead could be freer to do what he desired…

"Well… do you?" She questioned gently.

The mole zoanthrope looked at her curiously, torn by the emotions that were conflicting inside him. "Do I… what…?" He twitched suddenly when one of the sides won for the temporary moment, and he whispered to her raggedly, "…U-Uriko?" _You're such an angel… can you forgive me…?_

Ruining their serene moment, the ring around his neck started to shudder and he immediately dropped her hand, wincing as a wave of static surged through his body. Uriko went toward him, curious and concerned about what was happening, but he cried out, "Ugh…stay away-! Don't want you…to get hurt too…" _I've… brought you through enough… pain and suffering… as it is…_

She gazed at him worriedly. "But I-I can't just stand here and do nothing!"

Her words were faint to him while he was entangled in a misty world, his vision fogged, and his mind clouded with confusion as the inward battle resumed raging. He was caught in the middle of the mayhem, and he wanted to choose to leave his master and crawl over to the area where he was welcomed instead of tolerated. But that side wasn't strong enough at the time to overcome the dominating opposition, and he unwillingly gave in. Anger reclaimed his emotions and his eyes went to glare at her coldly, silently accusing her of being the cause of his previous bewildered state.

Trampling upon her helping hand, he yelled scornfully, "What is this damned influence that you have over me?!" _She's bewitched me! Almost turned me against my own master! _She didn't answer him and he growled, stepping foreword to capture her arms in a tight grip with his callused hands.

The look in her eyes was filled with affection and it almost weakened him at the sight. "Kenji…"

_She has to get out of here… my master will be coming soon…_ "Go away. Leave now." He ordered with a shove for emphasis.

"I will not!" His captive replied indignantly.

_Goddamn your defiance! _"I said leave, damn!!"

"And I said fuck no!" was her fierce come back.

He was surprised by her strong curse at him, but recovered quickly, and strolled toward her menacingly. His eyes flashed furiously as he hissed each word to her in a low voice, "You don't realize the position that you are in, do you? If you do not leave now, my master will come soon and have the pleasure of killing you himself." _…I don't want you to be killed…_ The realization that he cared for her well being was shocking to him, and he wavered slightly in bafflement, his expression turning almost pleading.

"And who the hell is that?" she of course asked instantly. "I know it can't be Busuzima; Stun killed him over two years ago. And Shenlong killed himself, according to Master Long."

_You'll never understand. _"No, it's not either of those pathetic weaklings!" He looked up and caught her rolling her eyes, and he grunted under his breath. "This is a harder opponent… a stronger zoanthrope… That is, if you want to refer to him as one of…our…kind."

"…What's that supposed to mean…?" the cat zoanthrope inquired curiously.

_You don't want to know, Uriko. Trust me. _"I can't explain now. You have to go," was all that he told her.

"And why don't you want me here so that your master can destroy me? Isn't that what he wants?"

_No!! I don't… I don't want him to touch you-_ He opened his mouth to answer her, but suddenly the ring vibrated again, as if foreshadowing a dark omen that was approaching, and his being shuddered violently in response.

She growled in annoyance. "You know what? I'm seriously getting annoyed by that stupid thing!"

The ninja couldn't say anything to her, just continued engaging in his private war, wishing that it would end soon. He didn't notice the young woman's actions until she pounced and pinned him securely to the ground with the weight of her body. Sharp objects clawed at the ring on his neck, and he stared at her face, wondering how she could do such a thing when she was still in her human form. After the surprised faded away, he shot her a murderous look and was about to retort, but a successful strike from her broke his restraint. The broken pieces fell to the floor with a clank, while he felt his body slump immediately, and release was restored to him.

"Finally!" he faintly heard the fierce female fighter exclaim triumphantly.

"Uhhh…" the seventeen-year-old mole zoanthrope moaned as bright light pierced his vision. Unseen water ran over his body, cleansing the blood that stained his flesh, making him feel more purified and reborn from his previous sins. _W-what… happened to me… …I feel free…_

"Oh!" she hastily got off of him. "Kenji, are you alright?"

"Uriko…" he murmured faintly, shaking his head as he thought groggily, _I… I'm back… I've come back home now… Home… to you._

The young woman took a firm hold of his hand and helped him up to a standing position, watching him albeit carefully as he arose from the ground. He knew that she was still a little weary of him, probably wondering if he was trying to trick her or if he was being truthful. Hoping that it would convince her, he gazed into her eyes, allowing his emotions for her to be shown in them, the affection that had been stored in him so long, he let go free now.

A smile formed over her face and he knew that she believed him. "Y-you're back!"

__

Finally… "Yeah… ugh, my neck hurts…" _In pain, but at least I'm back…_

"Oh man, I'm sorry about that… I… I didn't intend to hurt you or anything," her tone was regretful.

_I'm glad you did… it was a small price for me to pay after what I did to you… _"F-forget it…" Kenji assured her with a faint smile. "I, I am just glad to see you… Riko." _You're my savior…_

With a happy grin on her face, she lurched foreword and embraced him tightly; he returned her affections warmly. "I'm glad to see you too, Kenji. It's been too long…"

_What did I do to you…?_ He bit his lip so hard that it began to bleed. _Riko… how can you forgive me for… for…_ "Umm… about three years?" _And I had promised to only leave for a couple weeks. Damn it. I can't even keep promises that I make…_

A mournful-sounding sigh escaped her. "Yes…unfortunately. Oh, I missed you so much…"

"I missed you too…" he replied earnestly, sneaking a look at her out of the corner of his eye. In the time that the two had been separated, he didn't notice any significant changes about her, except that she was a stronger person than before. Newfound confidence gleamed off her like droplets of fresh rain glistening on the soft surfaces of young flower petals. Realizing that he was practically gawking at her, he backed away from her respectfully, the ninja glanced at her meaningfully and all of sudden spied an angry red welt marring the skin of her shoulder.

Almost subconsciously, he reached a hand toward her and grazed the bump gently with his fingertips as a pained feeling struck his inner being. _What have I done to you…_ "Uriko, I… I… didn't…"

"You don't need to explain," she assured him aimlessly.

_Stop being so conscientious, please… _"No… I do," Kenji insisted, taking her hand and meet her eyes nervously. _I have to own up to what I did… _"I have to let you know that I would never hurt you like that…not ever willingly… I apologize…" I_ deserve whatever's coming to me, if she yells, lashes out…_

A grimaced flickered over her face. "Trust me, Kenji, I know you better than that. Hey, we have been going together for quite a while. I'm sure that… that incident… was because of that 'master' of yours."

_…Master… Shit, she needs to get out of here now, before he comes! _His eyes flared. "Him… Uriko, sweetie… you gotta get out of here."

"What?" She sounded flustered. "Yeah right, I'm not gonna leave you to face him alone!"

_You have to go! _"Please, go!" the dark-haired ninja pleaded, squeezing her hand tightly with affection. "You don't get it, he's very powerful and manipulative with mind games; I care about you too much to risk him messing around with you!" _Uriko, if he got to you-_

"Hmm, touching. How disgusting." A voice suddenly interrupted his thoughts. He froze, recognizing the speaker. _I-It's **him**…_

They both turned to face him, the mole zoanthrope feeling like he was being reluctantly drawn to look upon the newcomer. Standing in the pathway that led out, he blocked the sunlight with his frame, darkening the room with his mere presence. His face was covered by strands of shoulder-length silver hair, but Kenji identified him by the white linen shirt, dark pants and oversized red coat that clothed his figure. The teenager began to tremble, fright replacing his former emotions while drops of sweat caused by anxiety clung to his cyan bangs.

"Xion…" he mumbled fearfully.

"That's his name…?" his female companion whispered.

"Yes…" he answered wearily, keeping his eyes trained on the foreigner.

"Foolish ninja… foolish _boy_," the dark stranger gibed at him conceitedly.

The young woman felt her companion stiffen at the words.

"So premature, so easy to confuse," Xion continued speaking in a hypnotic tone of voice, slowly stepping toward the pair, locking his intimidating crimson eyes on Kenji, who immediately flinched. "What a poor, pathetic boy. Do you really believe that the girl isn't just toying with you again?"

"Shut up!" The feline zoanthrope screeched in her ally's defense.

The steel-haired man instantly shifted his attention to her, snarling his annoyed hiss, "Stay out of this, you little brat."

"Not when you're trying to mess with his mind I'm not!" She retorted back.

The blue-haired boy's head lowered slightly, hanging 'casually' as his eyes were cast to the ground. The argument between the two others was heated and fierce, yet the words all felt faint to him as his head began to swim. His control over himself was slipping away from his grasp, and all he could manage was a weak murmur; "Uriko…"

"Yeah?" the young woman questioned gently.

"He's lying…" Please_ tell me he is, Uriko… _"…Isn't he?"

Neither of them caught the triumphant smirk that formed over Xion's lips.

Surprise and disbelief were in her voice as she asked, "Kenji… you doubt me…?"

_I feel… so tired… _His head felt heavy, and he allowed it to bob freely, his pupils becoming familiar with the contour lines of the ground. _Sleep sounds like a good thing to do right now…_

"Do you…?" she persisted. "…Kenji?"

The warmth of her hand comforted his chin, yet didn't waver his dazed state as she turned him to face her. He could see her eyes, but could only stare foreword blankly while dullness seeped through inside him, inhibiting his mind. It was hard to think and to concentrate on her face, as his sight senses were fuzzy, disoriented while something heavy weighed down on his mind. _Uriko… w-what's happening to me…?_

She firmly shook her compatriot while whispering a frantic, "Kenji, don't let him get to you!"

"I tire of this nonsense." The intruder remarked bluntly. 

Her hand left him suddenly and he heard something thump against the wall a few feet away, but all he could do was wonder. In his drowsy state, he was too weak to even lift up his head to see what was going on, try and help the young woman if she was in some kind of predicament. He faintly wished that he could stand up and fend off Xion, protect the Kenpo student, but his muscles were strained.

Uriko yelled to him, "Don't give in, Kenji! Fight it! You've got to!"

Somehow finding a bit of strength, he was able to turn his face and look at her, hearing her gasp when their eyes met. _What's wrong…?_ He questioned silently. _Did Xion get to her…?_

"R…Riko… I'm…sorry…" The last thought that ran through his mind an instant before he succumbed to the hazy, seductive darkness was, _Uriko… even though I don't deserve it… please forgive me…_

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The End

Author's Note: This mini-series has taken a slightly lighter tone, I hope… ^^0 At least Kenji reached a revelation before he got claimed by Xion's stupid persuasive mind-control again, heh… This is most likely the last of the series by the way, because I'm tired of feeling depressed (Deoku and Guyver), and besides, it's time to focus on the sequel novel! *grin* Hope you readers enjoyed this and please leave a review!

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With love for my fans,  
**Tiger5913**


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